


Unbound

by baroquedesert73



Series: The Unbound Series [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Coma, Creepy, Dreams, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, End of the World, Escape, Fire, Guilt, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Minecraft, On the Run, Psychological Horror, Regret, Scary, Superpowers, Teleportation, The Sims 4, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Weird Plot Shit, YouTube, i'm actually proud of something i wrote for once, they get mad at each other a bit but it's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 55,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baroquedesert73/pseuds/baroquedesert73
Summary: Smoke. There was smoke everywhere. The burning particles filled up his lungs as he gasped for air. Kevin sat up from where he was laying. How did he get there? He observed the area around him. He was in a forest, but it wasn't any normal forest. There was fire everywhere. Fire and smoke and havoc. He did not feel frightened, somehow. Through his wheezing, he felt safe. The fire did not touch him. It commemorated him. And he commemorated it. He was one with the fire.
Relationships: Daniel Condren & Kevin O'Reilly, Daniel Condren/Kevin O'Reilly
Series: The Unbound Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010340
Comments: 16
Kudos: 35





	1. Inextinguishable Flames

Smoke. There was smoke everywhere. The burning particles filled up his lungs as he gasped for air. Kevin sat up from where he was laying. How did he get there? He observed the area around him. He was in a forest, but it wasn’t any normal forest. There was fire everywhere, fire and smoke and havoc. He did not feel frightened, somehow. Through his wheezing, he felt safe. The fire did not touch him—it commemorated him, and he commemorated it. He was one with the fire.

The crackling of the present fire soothed Kevin, it warmed him. He was confused, however. He had no recollection of how he had gotten there in the first place—in the middle of that immense, burning forest. So, he merely sat there, listening, listening to the flames. The smoke was not fond of him, but he tried his best to revel in it as he did the fire. After all, fire concocts smoke. Eventually, his wheezing died down to leisurely and steady breaths.

Kevin gazed up at the night sky, seeing no stars. It was most likely because they were all drowned out in the light and smoke of the fire. It was not in spite, however, it was merely an accident. The fire could not help itself as it got brighter and brighter, illuminating more and more. It was ravishing, in some fatalistic way.

He was about to fall asleep due to the comfort of the fire, it was like a blanket to him, when he heard a shout from nearby. He could not tell which direction it was from, it bounced off of the many, burning trees.

Kevin perked up, fully awake now. Adrenaline pumped through his veins like the wildfire—if it was wild at all—encompassing him.

“Hello?” He shouted, hoping for a reply.

“Help!” And there it was. The voice shouted again, and he had a more familiar sense of where it was coming from. Kevin turned around to face the direction of the voice.

“Yes, I’m coming! Stay where you are!” Kevin shouted to the unfamiliar voice. He ambled towards it and as he got closer to the flames, they separated, forming an open path for him. The ground was ashes where the fire once lingered and burned wildly.

Kevin saw the other man in the clearing, fire surrounding him. The man was facing away from him, sitting, waiting, terrified. He joined the man in sitting, whose eyes had started to shine once he had seen Kevin.

“Finally, another person! I’ve no clue how I got here.” The man rejoiced. He was filthy, covered in ashes and remnants of smoke.

“Me neither. My name’s Kevin.” Kevin introduced with a small smile.

“I’m Daniel. Just call me Dan for short, if you’d like.” The man spoke. He had noticed that now that Kevin was here, the fire did not interrupt them anymore—it did not want to abolish Dan anymore. Was Kevin tied to this in some odd way? He wanted to inquire, but he couldn’t bring himself to it. It would sound weird once he would speak it out loud, and he knew that.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Dan asked as he studied Kevin’s eyes, searching for an answer within him. His eyes sparkled due to the illumination of the flames that encompassed them greatly.

“I don’t know. I kinda like it here, to be honest.” Kevin turned his gaze to the flames and only watched. He watched the reds, the yellows, the oranges, all dancing in correspondence with each other. The fire didn’t have a care in the world, especially for what it ravages along its journey. Most people would see fire as a destruction-machine. It was, but through Kevin’s eyes, he saw it differently. He saw fire as nature’s most glorious element. It was exquisite, and at some times, even serene.

Dan didn’t consider it weird that Kevin had been gazing at the fire for the past few minutes. He thought it was incredible that Kevin had such an admirable passion. It was imposing, Dan would admit. So, he watched the blazing danger as well. The fire combusted everything along the way but disregarded Dan and Kevin. He did not question the fire’s ethics. He couldn’t, anyway, even if he had wanted to. Fire cannot speak, it is merely an object, even if it consumes others.

He did not reflect on how he could breathe in the smoke harm-free. The thought had never surfaced in his mind. Soon enough, the warmth had disappeared, and so had the light. Dan gave a side-long glance at Kevin, who was now watching the sky. Clusters of stars gathered in the vast, dark sky. Crickets chirped moments later. It was tranquil. Dan gazed at the millions of stars in the sky, knowing that around each star lies more planets and that each planet has its own chance at life, intelligent or not.

Dan sighed, but it was not dreadful, nor stressful. He was only releasing all of the tension that he had felt with the fire. The fire was now miles away, sweeping across the forests and causing destruction. He did not fret, for it was merely a fragment of the cycle of life. There has to be destruction. Nothing can be perfect, it’s impossible. Destruction is always inevitable. The grass surrounding Kevin and Dan remained green and very-much alive. It was their safe spot—or, as Dan had come to assume, maybe it was his newfound friend, Kevin. But the more he thought about it, the more he thought, _no, that couldn’t be._

“We should get going,” Dan looked at Kevin, who was lost in the maze of the sky.

“Let’s wait until morning, I don’t want to miss this,” Kevin spoke before laying down. Dan shrugged, not wanting to argue with his friend, and complied. He laid down next to Kevin, about a foot or so away.

“Isn’t the sky just so beautiful? I rarely ever get to see this.” Kevin spoke softly, glancing over at Dan.

“I agree,” Dan let out a yawn mid-sentence and closed his heavy eyes.

“Good night, Dan,” Kevin whispered.

“See you in the morning,” Dan smiled as he whispered back. He drifted off into a deep slumber. Kevin remained awake, gazing up at the stars as he tried to recollect his memories. Last he remembered, he was leaving the movie theater. He can’t remember much after that though.

Maybe it was time that Kevin had gotten some shut-eye as well. All of this thinking was messing with Kevin’s barely-educated brain. He fell asleep to the relaxing chirping of the crickets and to the sight of the Milky Way above him before his eyes finally closed.

Kevin woke up that morning to the sound of the bare trees rustling with the gaining wind. “You awake, Dan?” Kevin asked before opening his eyes. Dan wasn’t there, he was missing. Kevin shot up briskly, frantic.

“Dan? Dan!” Kevin called but was left with no response. There was no one there with him, no one to comfort him, to assist him. He despised being by himself, it brought out the worst in him. Maybe he could bring back the fire? No, he didn’t possess a lighter or anything. Plus, the forest was already in ashes. There was nothing left for him to burn. The wind was also a killing factor. The fire could fall out of hand, not that Kevin really even cared about that anyway. The more destruction, the better. His only choice was to sit and wait, to sit and wait for Dan.

Kevin curled up into a tiny ball and closed his eyes. He waited, and waited, and waited. He didn’t know how long he was waiting there. Eventually, he found himself falling asleep.

“Kevin?” A voice asked a while later. The voice was followed by shaking shortly after. Kevin opened his eyes to see who the impostor was. It was Dan.

“Dan?” Kevin sat up and hugged Dan. “Dan? Where were you? How long has it been? It’s dark outside.”

“I-I don’t know. I fell asleep and woke up here. Again.” Dan appeared just as confused as Kevin was.

“But… how do you fall asleep and wake up somewhere else like that?” Kevin asked. Dan shrugged.

“Did you get enough sleep?” Dan asked. Kevin responded with a small nod.

“Great, let’s go,” Dan said and helped Kevin up. Kevin was still drowsy. He would estimate that he’d been sleeping for hours, maybe even the whole day.

“Where are we going?” Kevin asked, remnants of sleep evident in his voice.

“I don’t know,” Dan said and continued on, trekking through the burnt forest. Kevin observed the sky to see the Milky Way once more. It was there, just as he’d expected. It was always there. Usually. He was glad that there were no clouds in the way, but he only wished now that there was a fire. The fire was soothing, he admired it.

It usually was almost impossible to see in the night, but the moon shone so luminously—mixed with the bright colors of the Milky Way—that they could see the path ahead of them. Dan was focused and intent on finding wherever it was that they were headed. Kevin still had no clue. What if this was an endless forest, and they would soon meet their demise? Would they eventually find their homes, or would they rot away in this gigantic forest that was previously drowned out in a burning fire’s rage? Who knows. Kevin soon came to think that he liked it in the forest, it was nice. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much out there trying to kill him.

Thunder rumbled gently in the distance. Both he and Dan glanced back in the direction of where it had come from. “It’ll be fine, it’s probably hundreds of miles away,” Kevin reassured. Dan could only hope that Kevin was right about this.

“Maybe we should find someplace to stay, just in case it starts to rain.” Dan quaked, a bit anxious about the approaching storm. Kevin took this into consideration.

Kevin nodded before saying, “yeah, maybe that’s for the best. I don’t want to get soaked.”

The trees were out of the question, they were all burnt to crisps by the fire. They were hardly trees anymore, only large, tall sticks made up of dry charcoal and hardened ash. Where could they go? Their only choice was to continue until they found a place to stay. And soon, they did. The two came upon an unharmed tree. The fire had left it for them if it was even feasible. With all that was currently going on, Kevin could agree that it was.

Just as Kevin and Dan found their place beneath the tree, thick, dark clouds blanketed the sky and water drops fell from them tremendously. The tree did a superior job of withholding the rain from them. That was, apart from the occasional droplet that would hit their heads. They didn’t mind. Kevin and Dan leaned against the tree, sitting next to each other.

“That was a close one, huh?” Kevin asked.

“Yep.” Dan breathed, popping the ‘p.’ The sound of the raindrops was relaxing to their ears. They both cherished the sound of it. All of a sudden, their eyes both felt heavy. They found themselves closing their eyes within minutes.

“Good night, Daniel,” Kevin mumbled sleepily.

“Good night, Kevin.” Dan smiled. And they both fell asleep, the sound of the rain drowning out their thoughts.

The next morning, as expected, Dan was not there. It was still raining lightly. Kevin did not want to go out into the rain, even if it was merely a light sprinkle. Kevin was still baffled. Why wouldn’t he be? He woke up in the middle of a burning forest, and eventually found another person that woke up just the same. Adding to that, that person disappears in the day but suddenly reappears in the night.

Kevin didn’t know what to do for the day. It was a gloomy, damp day and the rain persisted. He only hoped that the tree did not give out over him, and then he would be left in the rain. He hoped that the rain would quell whenever Dan arrived, then they could go wherever it was they were going. Dan seemed set on the direction, but he didn’t disclose to Kevin where it was they were actually headed. Maybe Dan didn’t know, maybe he was only winging it.

Kevin, weirdly, already trusted Dan. He had only met him the other day, and he already trusted him. What was going on? This whole place was weird to Kevin. He wished the fire would return someday, that way he wouldn’t be alone—he wouldn’t be cold in this chilly forest.

Kevin didn’t want to go to sleep, he wasn’t tired. He had slept the whole night. Well, _almost_ the whole night. They didn’t really get that far due to the rain. Why were they alarmed by only a few drops of water? Well, it turned out to be more than that, really. It was more like heavy downpour, dismal, and lightning. Kevin wondered what had started the other forest fire, the one that had woken him up. Every single thing still bemused him. He couldn’t remember much about before he woke up in this peculiar forest. He could only hope that he would make it out alive. It seemed likely, so far he and Dan had not encountered any wildlife, not even harmless ones.

Kevin leaned his head against the tree and sighed deeply, letting his shoulders relax as the tension released from them. He stared off into space, thinking about nothing in particular. Mainly, where the feck was he? The thought of some sort of dreamscape crossed his mind, but this all felt too real for that to be, well, real. But how could he explain the sudden disappearances and reappearances of Dan? He couldn’t, which added to the factor of what this reality might be, if it was all in his mind or if he was on some sort of drug.

Kevin stood up and stepped out from under the tree, appreciating the droplets of water that tapped his bare skin lightly. He closed his eyes and held out his arms wide. A smile stretched across his face as he spun around, pleasuring every second he spent out in the rain. Fire and water, two opposites, and Kevin now cherished them both equally. Fire gave him warmth and water gave him hydration. They were both needed for sustaining life. They might be opposites, yet they are two sides of the same coin. He didn’t know why he suddenly loved the rain, but he didn’t care to know why. He just knew now that he loved it.

Kevin breathed in the fresh air, not opening his eyes yet, not wanting to. He wanted to indulge in this serene atmosphere. He eventually opened his eyes, a grin still on his face. He was mostly soaked now. How long had he been in the rain? Hours? No, it couldn’t have been hours—that would be way too long. Probably minutes. Maybe ten, or fifteen. Maybe even twenty. He was glad that he was finally able to savor something. Even if it wasn’t the warmth of the flames, he still loved it. He flourished in it, and it did to him as well. Odd. How did he know that? Was it climbing insanity, or was all of it only in his mind?

Kevin laid down on the ground flat on his back, arms and legs spread out wide. The rain soon ceased, but the sun still never shone. His smile did not falter as he relaxed on the damp ground which lacked even remnants of grass. It was only hardened ash and charcoal. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but Kevin still found a way to relax in it, as he always did.

“Kevin? What are you doing?” Dan suddenly asked out of nowhere as he literally had appeared out of nowhere. Kevin’s eyes were closed, so he was not able to see. He quickly opened them and saw Dan standing over him with a strange look on his countenance.

“I’m relaxing. Care to join?” Kevin said, his smile only widening.

“No, the ground is wet and uncomfortable.” Dan refused with a frown, his eyes flickering to the ground Kevin was laying on.

“Suit yourself.” Kevin shrugged and set his arms behind his head, just to exhibit how relaxed and cozy he was. Dan sighed and rolled his eyes before laying down next to Kevin.

Kevin had not noticed that it was still light out when Dan had arrived. Dan rested his hands on his stomach and gazed at the sky, as Kevin had been doing for the past few minutes now.

“What are you looking at, Kevin?” Dan asked and the two exchanged glances.

“Nothing, just the sky.”

“We should get going,” Dan spoke a few minutes later, getting up. He brushed the dirt off of his legs before assisting Kevin up as well.

“Fine. Where are we going, anyway? You never told me.”

“I… don’t know,” Dan replied honestly. He had directions implanted in his head, but stating that out loud would only make him sound crazy.

“Well, why don’t we just wait here for people to come rescue us?” Kevin asked.

“Because, Kevin, if they wanted to rescue us, they most likely would’ve done it already,” Dan admitted.

Kevin groaned. A few minutes later, he groaned again. Then again, moments later.

“What, Kevin?” Dan asked out of annoyance.

“Are we there yet?” Kevin asked like he was a child.

“Kevin, no. I don’t know. Just walk.” Dan said with a sigh, almost facepalming. Kevin didn’t reply and heeded Dan’s words.

It did not turn dark until a few hours later. Kevin finally wanted to question the matter. What had been going on? “Hey, Dan?” Kevin asked quietly, kicking a small, innocent rock that was in his way.

“Yeah?” Dan responded, not turning around.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Dan turned around to face Kevin, halting them both.

“You disappear during the day, yet you come back at night. What is going on?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is that when I go to sleep somewhere else, I wake up here.” Dan explained, though it still made no sense. He truly didn’t know what was going on, so there wasn’t much to explain.

“Then why do I stay here for day _and_ night? Am I… _dead?”_ Kevin asked, suddenly panicking.

“No, no, I don’t think so. You must be in a very deep sleep or you could be in comatose.” Dan said quickly, entertaining the thought.

“Oh,” Kevin mumbled. Well, at least he wasn’t dead. This still didn’t explain _anything_. How did they get there? Why were they in this seemingly never-ending forest, sure to meet their ultimate demise? Dan turned around to face the path ahead, nothing left to inform, and walked. He walked, and Kevin pursued him.

After about thirty minutes or so, the two plunged out of the woods and onto a street. They were in a town, a familiar one, but Kevin couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The town and streets were eerily empty and abandoned, yet the lights were still on inside the houses. Dan walked through the streets like he knew exactly where he was going. Maybe he did, or maybe he was just improvising.

Nonetheless, they persisted. More like Dan continued, and Kevin lumbered behind, still bewildered by this all. Soon enough, Dan turned into a driveway to a house that was further from the others, in a more secluded neighborhood. The lights were off, which must’ve meant that no one was home. Way to state the obvious.

“Where are we, Dan?” Kevin asked as he perused the area, making speculations as he did so. This must be—

“My house,” replied Dan as he opened the front door, which was surprisingly unlocked. He held the door open for Kevin, who hesitantly entered. Dan walked in moments after and shut the door behind them. He flicked on the lights with a light switch that was located next to the front door.

The lights turned on in the designated room, the foyer, and Kevin saw the nice-looking interior. The walls were painted an eggshell white and there was a table in the corner. On that table was a pot that held a bundle of flowers. The flowers were all white, common daisies, matching the rest of the foyer.

“Welcome to my home,” Dan smiled, his arms spread out as a welcome gesture.

Kevin reciprocated the smile before continuing to examine the room. There were three doors. One opposite the front door, and two on the two remaining walls. Those three were just openings in the walls. One led to the living room, and the other led to the kitchen, from what Kevin could see. The third, opposite the front door, led to a small hallway.

“You have a nice house.” Kevin met Dan’s warm eyes.

“Thank you, Kevin.”

“By the way, how did you know where to go?” Kevin asked. Dan shrugged, not knowing the answer. He was drawn to it. He felt like it was necessary to go in that direction, and that direction had led him to home-sweet-home.

“You hungry?” Dan asked after a short moment.

“No, no thank you,” smiled Kevin politely.

“Okay, well you must be tired. I have some extra clothes that you can borrow if you want. You are all soaked and filthy. You might fit into my clothes. You can also take a shower if you want to.” Dan offered.

“Oh, no thank you. It’s okay.”

“No, Kevin. You stay here. I will go fetch you some clothes real quick.” Insisted Dan before disappearing into the door opposite the front door, into the hallway. After a few moments, Dan returned with a small pile of neatly-folded clothes.

“Follow me.” Said Dan, and Kevin followed him to the bathroom. It was down the hallway and in the first door on the right.

“Thank you, Dan. For everything.” Kevin smiled.

“Not a problem, Kevin,” Dan spoke, “once you’re finished, I’ll most likely be in the living room. Get me and I’ll show you the guest bedroom.” Kevin nodded and Dan left for the living room, most likely to watch something on the TV. Well, what else would the living room be for?

Kevin shut the door, turned on the shower—it took him a minute to find out which knob controls what; it’s always like that when at an unfamiliar house—, undressed, and hopped in.

The water was warm, but still gave him goosebumps due to the sudden change in temperature.

After his shower, Kevin hopped out and dried himself off with the white towel. He wrapped it around his waist and looked at himself in the mirror he had just noticed was there. What he saw had caused him to scream. Halfway through the scream, he quickly slapped his hand over his mouth and glanced at the door to the bathroom. He heard footsteps coming closer and closer.

“Kevin? You alright?” Dan asked with a small, quiet knock.

“Y-yeah… I’m alright.” Kevin trembled. His breath hitched as he looked back at the mirror.

He had no reflection.


	2. This Isn't A Safe Place Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bois pursue their attempt to find out what the hell is going on

Kevin hastily although precisely slid his borrowed clothes on before exiting the bathroom. He departed for the living room where he saw Dan curled up on the couch, watching some sort of comedy show on the TV.

“What are you watching?” Kevin asked, struggling to keep a calm demeanor although his brain was on fire, hundreds upon hundreds of questions and thoughts and emotions running through it. He compelled a smile upon his face, but his eyes told otherwise. The odd look was what Dan had picked up on.

“Kevin… are you alright?” Dan dismissed Kevin’s question and reciprocated with another, evidently worried. Kevin slumped down next to Dan on the couch, who had already swiveled to face him. His synthetic smile faltered with ease. He didn’t know how to inform Dan of this. It would sound crazy. It already sounded crazy for Kevin just to think about it. _Oh, hey, Dan! No, I’m not fecking fine! I was just in the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror, I had no fecking reflection!_

Kevin sighed deeply, preparing himself to share his strange discoveries with Dan. “Dan, I… I don’t have a reflection in the mirror.” Kevin’s shivered as he spoke, for this had certainly troubled him. He realized that with everything else that was going on, this faultlessly lined up, but the fact that he had no reflection frightened him further. When Kevin met Dan’s eyes, he appeared alarmed as well.

“ _What?_ ” Dan asked. He was perplexed and his concern worsened. Kevin got up and gestured for Dan to pursue him, and which he did. They headed to the bathroom to peek in the mirror. They both didn’t possess a reflection. _What’s going on? How is this happening?_

Dan blanched as he gazed into the mirror, only to see the shower behind him reflecting back at him. He turned his head to look at Kevin, who returned the glance.

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Kevin asked mostly to himself. However, this oddity wasn’t like it was their own negligence. They had wakened in the middle of a burning forest that they undoubtedly didn’t saunter into themselves, and now they have no reflection. They were more disturbed and timid than ever before.

“Maybe we’re just delirious. We should get some sleep. It might be better in the morning.” Dan suggested to help lighten the mood a bit. Alas, it didn’t do much like he had wanted it to. He showed Kevin to the guest bedroom before heading off to his own. He closed his door after flipping on his lights. He had some notion of what was going on, he just couldn’t comprehend _how, h_ ow it was feasible, that is.

And right there on his bed, as anticipated, was his dozing body. There was no point in sleeping, that wouldn’t make any sense to him. He was already fast asleep. He just had to dawdle until he woke up, then he could go about his day as regular. But how was Kevin there? How did Kevin get into Dan’s own Dreamscape, if that’s even what it was at all?

Dan settled down at his desk where his PC was. He didn’t want to play anything at the present, but he sat there regardless. He might play games later, perhaps Planet Coaster or The Sims 4. He could possibly make another blender and hopefully get a vaster G-Force than he had previously gotten. He sighed and rested his head on his hands. He waited and waited. Eventually, he ended up falling asleep… and arising in his bed.

“Ugh, what time is it?” Dan mumbled groggily as he turned over to glance at his digital clock. It was eight in the morning. He sighed, tossing the covers off of his legs and flipping them over the bed. _Man, I had the weirdest dream last night._ He reckoned after yawning.

Dan rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stood up. Why was his light on? He must’ve left it on before he went to sleep or something. He didn’t bother changing out of his pajamas. He didn’t go anywhere for work, anyway. He merely worked from home as a videogame designer. It was a leisure job, particularly the designing part. The actual programming part was the time-consuming and difficult part. One fault, and you have to scour for the error.

Dan didn’t have to work that day, thankfully. Today he would just play games as he usually would do on his days off. Dan retired from his room and headed for the kitchen. While he was ambling through the hallway, however, he heard sizzling. It sounded like somebody was cooking in the kitchen. _What? Is someone here?_ Dan panicked. He tiptoed as quietly and briskly as humanly possible towards his room where he snatched his bedside lamp. He didn’t own a bat or a crowbar or a wooden board, so this would do for now. He removed the cover and unscrewed the lightbulb so those wouldn’t break.

Dan snuck out into the hall, lamp in hand, as quietly as he possibly could. He spun around the corner to the kitchen promptly and saw… Kevin? But… he was solely in his dream! How could this be?

Kevin was facing away from Dan, cooking something on the stove. He wore a white apron. Kevin knew how to cook? Dan simply stood there and watched. Kevin didn’t catch sight of him yet.

“K-Kevin?” Dan mumbled, hardly adequate for Kevin to hear. Kevin whipped his head around. He made a weird face once he saw the lamp post, but then he just shrugged.

“Oh, good morning, Dan! I decided to make some eggs and bacon.” Kevin turned back to face the stove. To be honest, it didn’t smell awful at all. Slightly burnt, but that was okay.

Dan only stood there, still in shock. How is Kevin here? Did his dreams somehow leak into reality, or were his dreams… reality? Dan didn’t notice Kevin bring the saucepan over to the table and dish out the eggs and bacon onto the two plates. He was too zoned-out, far too into his trance.

“Dan? Are you alright?” Kevin consulted, which snapped Dan out of his reflections and turmoil.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” Dan’s voice trembled.

“You don’t seem fine,” Kevin was presently standing in front of Dan, but Dan was still staring at the floor. _How is this possible? Am I going crazy? Wh—_ Dan’s thoughts were suspended by Kevin bringing his hand to Dan’s chin and moving his head so he would face Kevin.

“What’s wrong, Dan? You can tell me.” Kevin asked, voice sweet and consoling.

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but when he couldn’t construct the words, he shut his mouth and looked away sheepishly. When Dan didn’t respond, Kevin spoke up, “is it about yesterday? How we didn’t have any reflection?”

“S-Somewhat.” Dan stammered and compelled himself to glimpse at Kevin. And when he did, he got spooked again. Kevin picked up on that. He made an odd face, thinking. Dan hated that he didn’t know what about. And he hated that he wanted to know so badly.

“Follow me,” Kevin declared and walked off. When Dan didn’t pursue, he spun and grabbed Dan’s wrist, bringing Dan with him. Kevin took him to the bathroom, and as he speculated, Dan had a reflection.

“Did you wake up?” Kevin asked, his hands on Dan’s shoulders as he peered at the mirror over Dan’s head.

“Y-Yeah, I think so, but I thought this was all a dream. How is this happening? What _is_ happening?” Dan met Kevin’s gaze, who retained a sympathetic countenance.

“I have no clue, but we should find out. Let’s go eat first. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” Kevin smiled, and the two took off for the kitchen. Kevin drew the chair for Dan to sit down and pushed it in once he did that. Dan mumbled a ‘thank you’ and Kevin sat down on his chair.

“The bacon might be a bit burnt, but might still taste good.” Kevin smiled and took a bite of a piece of bacon.

“It’s okay. Thank you, Kevin.” Dan smiled and picked up his fork to take a bite of one of the eggs. He jabbed the yolk bubble and the yellow, viscous liquid came running out.

As they were eating, Kevin remarked, “did you know that apron pockets are excellent for holding eggs?”

“Kevin, please tell me you didn’t…” queried Dan, worried.

“I did,” Kevin enunciated, proud of himself.

“Kevin, no.”

“Kevin, yes!” Kevin contended. Dan sighed, not wishing to argue. He grinned and shook his head. They both proceeded to consume their breakfast in silence. It was not uneasy silence, though. It was moderately prosperous.

Once they were both finished, Kevin picked up his plate and attempted to pick up Dan’s as well. Dan forbade, “Kevin, let me. You’ve done a lot for me already.” Dan clasped both his and Kevin’s plate and took them to the sink. Once he plopped them in the sink, he noticed the pile of dishes that resided within the sink. He grimaced. _Looks like I’ll be doing the dishes._

Dan swiveled on the hot water and let it run. He grabbed a plate and rinsed it off before scrubbing it with a sponge and a dab of dish soap. He didn’t notice Kevin stride up next to him.

“Let me help, Dan.” Kevin insisted as he snatched a dry towel to dry off the dishes.

Dan sighed, “okay.” Once Dan cleaned off the first plate, he passed it to Kevin, who then dried off the plate and positioned it on the dish rack. They did this with all of the dishes, and soon the sink was clean and empty.

“We did good,” Kevin grinned, proud of his and Dan’s work. He noticed that Dan had been grinning at him from the corner of his eye. So, Kevin met his gaze. They seemed to watch and smile at each other for a prolonged duration before Dan halted, clearing his throat.

“Wanna play Minecraft with me?” Dan invited. He didn’t have another PC besides his own, but he did have an XBOX so they could play split-screen.

“Feck yeah,” Kevin beamed, and they both left for the living room. Kevin made himself at home on the couch and Dan turned on the TV, and then his XBOX. He grabbed two controllers and carried them back to the sofa. He handed Kevin a controller and sat next to him, but not _too_ close. Once he was at the XBOX menu, he selected Minecraft and then waited for that to load.

“Okay, let’s create a new world. Survival or creative?” Dan asked, glancing at Kevin.

“Hardcore.” Kevin declared and chuckled darkly.

“Okay, then,” Dan selected hardcore and then ‘Create New World.’

The two spawned in an oak forest and embarked to gather wood from the numerous trees. They crafted a crafting table, then some tools.

“Want me to make the house, or do you want to make it?” Kevin glanced at Dan.

“You can make it, I’ll gather supplies,” Dan stated, then ran off to obtain said items.

Kevin got to work compiling surplus logs and then ran off to find an ideal location for a house. Kevin emerged out of the forest seconds later and now stood in a grassland. There were pigs, cows, sheep, and horses everywhere. There were mountains off in the distance, and also an ocean contrary to that, approximately one hundred or so blocks away.

Kevin converted his logs into planks, and he had a few stacks of them. _Not bad!_ Kevin thought. For his house he had planned out, he would retain a lot of planks left over.

Kevin commenced by creating the floor out of cobblestone, then constructing four-block-high walls of oak planks enclosing it, and wrapped it up with a roof. He made sure to leave an opening on one of the walls for a door. He positioned a crafting table inside the dark, unlit house and crafted a door. He then placed the door in the open spot on the wall.

He did not have any torches yet, that’s why the room was so dark. He punched out a few holes in the walls to let natural light in. All he had to do now was brutally murder some sheep for their wool. He fled the house and charged towards the nearest sheep and annihilated it. He got two wool. It wasn’t adequate for even one bed. He required six wool total so he could make two beds; one for him, and one for Dan.

A few minutes later, Kevin made it back at the house with six pieces of wool. He placed them, along with wood, on the crafting table, and soon enough he had two beds. He positioned them on opposite sides of the room.

Dan arrived at the house when it was nighttime, and the monsters soon came out of hiding. Kevin made sure to cover up the open holes in the walls so skeletons couldn’t shoot in through them or the creepers would see them and explode all of Kevin’s hard work. There was now a furnace and a double chest next to the crafting table.

“Nice house, Kevin,” Dan chuckled.

“Thanks, I worked really hard on it,” Kevin smiled, “what did you get?”

“Well, I got a lot of beef and pork, as well as a lot of iron and cobble. I also got torches.” Dan listed off the items he’d found. He pulled out the torches and placed them where they were needed in the house. The house felt more like a home, and the sound of iron smelting in the furnace was, somehow, relaxing.

Soon it was night in real life. Kevin and Dan were both tired from playing Minecraft all day. The sad thing is, they haven’t even found diamonds yet!

“I’m so tired,” Dan groaned. He stood up and stretched.

“Me too,” Kevin yawned. Dan turned off the XBOX and the TV.

“Goodnight, Kevin,” Dan smiled and disappeared around the corner. Kevin smiled. He guessed that he should probably hit the hay as well. So, Kevin walked through the hallway and to the guest bedroom. Before he opened the door, he glanced towards Dan’s bedroom. Then he entered the guest bedroom and fell asleep.

Dan woke up in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavily. Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He couldn’t tell if he actually woke up in real life or if he’s in the Dreamscape. Either way, his throat was dry. He was parched.

Dan left his room and headed towards the kitchen. Once he got there, he opened one of his cupboards and grabbed a glass cup. He held his cup under the faucet and turned on the water, but nothing happened. No water came out. He turned the water off, then back on again. Nothing. He did it again, and out the water came.

Dan waited for the cup to fill up. Halfway, the water accumulated a red tint, as well as a viscous consistency. Blood. Dan’s eyes widened, but he could not let go of the cup. He couldn’t move. He blinked, and the water was back to normal, overflowing out of the cup and on Dan’s hand. He shook his head and brought the cup up to his mouth to drink. He finished the cup of water but it didn’t seem to quench his thirst. Weird.

Dan filled the cup back up with the life-sustaining liquid, this time without any troubles. He started to drink the cup and he turned around to face away from the sink. He could see some sort of dark, shadowy figure through the bottom of the glass, albeit it looked duplicated and distorted because of the glass.

Dan dropped the glass and it shattered on the floor, sending flying glass shards everywhere and water splashed at his legs. However, when Dan looked down, it was not water. It was blood again. Then Dan started to taste it, the blood that was once water. He spat it out onto the floor, holding back his puke.

Dan’s eyes widened. He wanted to scream, but he could not. He wanted to move, but he could not. The figure was gone, but Dan could still feel its presence. He started to hyperventilate. He wanted to call for Kevin, but he couldn’t find his voice.

Dan looked up to see the figure again, standing behind the dining table as it had before. His ears started to ring and his vision distorted, getting redder and darker with each passing second that he discerned the petrifying figure. However, Dan couldn’t take his eyes away. They refused to move away.

“Dan?” A sleepy voice asked from his right. Dan blinked and the figure was gone. His vision and hearing were back to normal. Dan knew it was Kevin.

Once Kevin saw the shattered glass at Dan’s bare feet, he rushed to his side, avoiding glass shards on his way. “Dan! Dan, what happened?” Kevin turned Dan to face him. Dan’s face was pale and his lips were slightly parted. He didn’t look at Kevin directly.

Kevin spoke softly, “Dan, please. You have to tell me what’s wrong.” Dan still didn’t answer. He didn’t move. Kevin sighed and picked Dan up bridle style. He stepped over the glass shards, careful not to get any embedded in his foot. Dan didn’t react to anything. He was frozen, paralyzed by fear. Kevin gently sat Dan down on the couch and then left to pick up the glass shards and clean up the water.

 _What caused this to happen?_ Kevin asked himself. He swept up the glass shards and dumped them in the trash bin, then he grabbed a towel and wiped up the water, letting it soak into the towel. After he finished, he left to check on Dan, who hadn’t changed a bit. He was still motionless and didn’t react to anything. Kevin didn’t know what to do, so he just grabbed a blanket from on top of the couch and wrapped Dan up in it, tucking him in. He sat next to Dan for a few seconds before whispering, “goodnight, Dan.”

Kevin got up to head for his room but was suddenly stopped by Dan grabbing his hand. “P-Please, don’t go.” Dan pleaded. He looked frightened. What would he be afraid about, though?

Kevin sat down on the floor next to the couch where Dan was laying. Some of the color had returned to Dan’s face, but he wasn’t fully back to normal.

“What’s wrong, Dan?” Kevin asked, trying not to speak too loud. Dan was too fragile right now.

Dan tried to form the words, but couldn’t. He still tried, and Kevin was patient with him. After a minute or so, Dan actually spoke, “there… there was… Wait- am I in the Dreamscape?” Kevin seemed confused by this remark.

“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked, confused.

“That’s what you are in right now, some sort of Dreamscape, it’s apparently where we go in our unconscious state. For some reason, that’s applying to us.” Dan explained in a whisper.

“I… I don’t know then. How can you tell?” Kevin asked.

“I’ll have to check,” Dan quavered, and he tried to sit up. Kevin stopped him, however.

“You need to rest, I can go check.”

“N-No, let me come with you. It’s not safe to be alone.” Dan stammered. _I don’t want to be alone._

“I’ll be fine, Dan. There’s nothing to worry about. Now, what am I looking for?” Kevin asked.

“Don’t leave me alone, Kevin. Please.” Dan pleaded. Kevin sighed.

“Okay, can you walk?”

“Y-yeah, I can,” Dan nodded. He’s in shock, he didn’t break his bones. Kevin still helped Dan up and to his room. What they saw confirmed that Dan was, in fact, in the Dreamscape.

“What the feck? How are there two of you?” Kevin exclaimed.

Dan chuckled weakly, “I don’t know, I guess when you are unconscious, your consciousness moves elsewhere. I think we should find your body so we can wake you up, it’s not safe here anymore.”

“What do you mean it’s not safe? I feel perfectly safe.” Kevin said softly, mostly to reassure Dan that everything was alright, and helped Dan sit down on his bed. Kevin sat down next to him and looked him in the eyes.

“I-I saw… something. Something’s not right.” Dan trembled as the vision crept into his mind once more. Kevin considered what Dan had said.

“So, you said that we should try to find my body?” Kevin asked. Dan nodded. It would be for the best. If they stayed in the Dreamscape any longer, well, who knows what could happen to them. What if they never wake up again and they get stuck here?

“I’ll have to wake up first. I can’t just leave without my body or else I might wake up here in the Dreamscape, far away from you.” Dan explained.

“And how do you do that?”

“I go to sleep.” Dan thought it was funny that he had to fall asleep to wake up. Kevin must’ve thought it was as well since he let out a small, breathy chuckle.

After a few minutes, Dan woke up in his normal body. Kevin was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting. He reached over and tapped Kevin on the shoulder, who then spun around to face him.

It was already sunrise when they made it to the kitchen. Kevin popped a few pieces of bread into the toaster for breakfast and Dan sat at the table, gazing out the window at the breathtaking sunrise. Soon enough, Kevin handed Dan a plate and then sat down across from him where he had yesterday. There were two pieces of toast on each plate. There was a slice of butter on each.

“This looks delicious, Kevin. Thank you,” Dan smiled and took the first bite. It was surprisingly delicious.

“Well, it is easier than the stove, so I did a bit better.” Kevin smiled and ate a piece too. He was baffled by how flavorful the toast was. He was mainly surprised because he was the one that cooked them.

“So, do you remember where you were, location-wise, before you woke up in that forest?” Dan asked, glancing at Kevin.

“I was at the movie theater in Dublin. I remember leaving, then… nothing after that.” Kevin answered.

“Hm. So you must be somewhere in Dublin. We’ll have to go there and check. We can check where you live as well.” Dan speculated. Dan could see Kevin nod out of the corner of his eye. The only thing that baffled him about this was the fact that he just fell asleep out of nowhere. His theory from earlier was suddenly brought to his attention. He could be in a coma somewhere. They’ll have to check the closest hospital as well when they get to Dublin.

“Are you sure you don’t remember anything else happening?” Dan asked. Kevin thought for a second before shaking his head no. He truly doesn’t remember anything else happening. Dan would still check the hospital. If he wasn’t there, then he’d check the next one. He’d search all of the hospitals in Ireland to find Kevin. Fuck, he’d search the whole world. But… why? Why did he feel like this? Why did he want to take drastic measures for Kevin? Maybe they just became good enough friends during the few days that they’d known each other.

Dan finished his toast and rested his head on his hand. He was a bit tired. Last night was crazy. Maybe that’s why he wanted to save Kevin so badly, he didn’t want anything to happen to him. Kevin, a few moments later, came by to pick up Dan’s empty plate and fork. He didn’t refuse his help this time. Dan looked up to where the eerie figure had been standing the night before. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of that spot.

All of a sudden, the figure was there. Standing, watching, it’s nonexistent eyes staring deep into Dan’s soul. But when Dan blinked, it was gone. What was happening? He thought that he could only see the figure in the Dreamscape. Maybe… maybe it was leaking into reality. No, that wasn’t possible. Was it?

_Was it?_

“Dan, are you alright?” Kevin asked. He noticed that Dan hadn’t taken his eyes off of that spot.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Dan snapped out of it and looked at Kevin, who had a concerned expression on his face.

“You ready to pack up?” Kevin asked. Dan nodded and got up out of the chair. Kevin didn’t have anything with him, so he decided to help Dan with his packing up. They left for his bedroom. Once there, Dan grabbed a backpack and opened his drawers. He picked out a few outfits and shoved them in the backpack. Kevin didn’t really know what to do, so he sat on the bed and watched. Dan grabbed his laptop as well, so he could work when he needed to.

He also grabbed two pillows and two blankets for the long car ride. They’d have to travel across Ireland to get to Dublin after all. He handed a pillow and blanket to Kevin, zipped up his backpack, and left. Dan made sure to grab his wallet and car keys before. The streets weren’t empty, and occasionally a car would drive by. Kevin saw it as empty, though. Funny, Kevin could only see Dan. And Dan could see Kevin, who was in the Dreamscape.

Dan and Kevin walked towards Dan’s car, and he unlocked it. The black paint of the car glistened in the sun. Dan popped the trunk and sat his backpack, along with the pillow and blanket in the back. Kevin kept his pillow and blanket so he could sleep during the ride.

Dan hopped in the driver’s seat and Kevin hopped in the passengers. He started the car and drove off, heading in the direction of Dublin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, here's another chapter. I'm almost done with the book (i think), there might be 14 or 15 chapters when I'm finished, I'm on chapter 12. This is actually the most I've written, EVER. I have two other books, one has 18k words and the other has 24k. This one, so far, has more than double of that. Wow.
> 
> I just now noticed that Eggos are only sold in North America so... ignore that. In this universe, Eggos are sold everywhere.
> 
> Remember: I have a tumblr that you can reach me at. It's baroquedesert73 or use this link https://www.tumblr.com/blog/baroquedesert73  
> I also have an email if you want to reach me there! baroquedesert73@gmail.com  
> Use these to notify me for any reason: a grammar or spelling mistake, fanart, or maybe even suggestions for another book! Thank you all, I appreciate it! <3
> 
> Okay, enough of that! Enjoy!


	3. Watch Me Fall Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they headin to dublin to find Kevo's body :o
> 
> ...more creepy shit happens

It was almost night already, and they still had a ways to go. Kevin had offered to drive, but Dan said it was okay. After a while, he was getting more and more drowsy. Kevin was also on the brink of sleep, so Dan pulled down a dirt road to the side and parked. Dan turned on the lights in the car.

Kevin seemed to be confused about this. “What are we doing?” he mumbled.

“I’m tired, you’re tired, let’s just get some rest,” Dan said sleepily. Kevin seemed to agree. He reclined his car seat, the pillow under his head and blanket draped over his body. Dan got out of the car and went around to the back. He popped the trunk and grabbed his pillow and blanket. He then closed the trunk and got back in the driver’s seat. Kevin was already half asleep. Kevin glanced at Dan once he entered.

Dan got comfortable and turned off the lights. It was darker in the car than it was outside. Thousands of stars littered the sky. Dan reclined his chair to be at level with Kevin.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dan asked.

“It is,” Kevin agreed.

They both sat and watched the stars for a few minutes before Kevin turned over to the side, facing away from Dan. “Goodnight, Dan,” Kevin mumbled.

“Goodnight, Kevin,” Dan smiled to himself. He too fell asleep minutes later.

Dan woke again that night, troubled by his disturbing dreams. The night sky was darker than usual. No stars were out. A cloud must blanket the sky. Dan glanced towards Kevin, who was fast asleep. Dan thought about falling asleep again but he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. They refused to close.

Dan didn’t want to just sit around and wait for sleep to come to him, so he left the car. Maybe a walk along the desolate road would fatigue him enough to sleep. He shut the car door as quietly as he could behind him. He could barely see the road ahead of him as he began to walk. He wished he had a light of some sort though, it would make it a lot easier.

After a minute or so of walking, his path was lit up in a red, unnatural light. Dan looked up to see the source of it. There was a huge street lamp. Was that before? Hold on a second, why was there a street lamp on a gravel road? They only put those in cities and busy roads. Weird. Dan urged himself forwards, but he couldn’t move. He was glued in place, in the middle of this redness.

The only thing he could bring himself to do is turn around. When he did, he saw many more street lamps lining down the road. They were turned off, but they were still there. Dan’s breathing got faster and heavier. Not again. This can’t happen again. Why is this happening?

One by one, slowly, each light turned on, starting at Dan and moving back towards the car. He didn’t want to see what was at the end of the road where the lights would end ever-so abruptly. Wherever the red light didn’t touch was silent, drowned away in the darkness. All Dan could see now was the street lamps and the light that emitted from them. All except for that last one.

Suddenly, that one last light flicked on. Dan could see the figure there; waiting, watching with its nonexistent eyes. It was waiting for something, and Dan couldn’t quite put his finger on it. All other sounds faded away into the darkness. He could hear the silence as it boomed, if that was even possible. It seemed to Dan that everything was possible at that moment. And with everything that has happened, _anything_ could be possible.

Dan blinked, and the figure was gone. _What? Where did it… go?_ Many thoughts ran through Dan’s mind. Once he blinked again, the figure was only five feet in front of him. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. He wanted to get to Kevin, but he couldn’t. He was in some sort of… void, paralyzed. He had to face the creature to leave. He didn’t know how he knew, and he didn’t want to do it. He knew he didn’t have a choice. Well, he can’t move and this… _figure_ is in front of him.

Dan couldn’t help but stare and take it all in. This figure was unmoving yet moving at the same time, and Dan didn’t know how to process it all.

“Time… time is almost up…” The figure boomed before everything went black. Dan jumped up in a cold sweat. He was back in the car and the stars were out in the sky again. _I must be awake for real, now._ Dan thought, sighing. He looked at Kevin who was still asleep, faced away from him.

_What did it mean by ‘time is almost up?’_

The light of the morning sun woke Kevin up the next morning. He yawned and stretched, they were already on the road. “Morning,” Dan chuckled, dark circles residing under his eyes. He had a coffee in his hand and motioned to the other one that sat in the cupholder.

“This for me?” Kevin asked, picking up the to-go coffee. Dan nodded with a small smile.

They were only 20 minutes from Dublin, then they could start to look for Kevin. The _other_ Kevin. Kevin was literally sitting next to him, well, his conscious was.

“Thank you,” Kevin said after a sip of the coffee. It was plain, black coffee, but lucky for Kevin, he loved it.

“I hope you don’t mind that I got you black coffee. I didn’t know what you wanted.” Said Dan.

“It’s alright, I like black coffee,” Kevin admitted and took another sip of the coffee. Dan looked over and smiled at him for a second.

20 minutes later, the two arrived in the city of Dublin. They saw the splendid architecture and, surprisingly, not many people. Their plan was to head straight for the movie theater, and hope for Kevin to recollect his memories if he could. Maybe being there, Kevin would be able to find out what had happened and what had gone wrong at that moment.

Either way, even if Kevin did find something out, Dan would go and search the hospital. Something _could’ve_ happened. Kevin might remember something wrong. Maybe a false memory could resurface. Made up memories could be a possibility as well. Dan would stop for nothing until he found Kevin. It isn’t safe in the Dreamscape—at least, not anymore. That’s why Dan had to get him out, ASAP.

“Maybe we should stop and get something to eat before we go to find, well, me. How does that sound?” Kevin suggested, jovial, clueless of the situation. He hasn’t seen what Dan has seen. He just doesn’t understand.

“Wouldn’t that be weird?” Dan suggested the idea. After all, he can’t just order food for two when there wasn’t a second person for people to see. People would think he was crazy and talked to ghosts or something. However, Kevin took this the wrong way. He didn’t understand what Dan was really trying to say.

“O-Oh, okay. Yeah, I… I understand.” Kevin mumbled, a bit dejected. Kevin rested his head on his hand and stared out the window, facing away from Dan. Dan didn’t say anything about it; he didn’t know that Kevin took it the wrong way. So, he kept driving until the movie theater was in sight. Clouds already blanketed the sky, heavy with water collected from all over.

“We’re here, get ready,” Dan announced. Kevin mumbled something, but Dan couldn’t tell what. _He must be upset. Maybe memories are resurfacing already. I’ll leave him to it._ Dan thought. He pulled in front of the old-looking theater and turned off the car. He glanced at Kevin, who seemed sorrowful looking out the window. Rain had started to sprinkle, and they collected on the windows.

“Hey, Kevin, don’t worry. We’ll find your body.” Dan smiled sympathetically, but Kevin never turned to look at him. He didn’t even mumble anything. _He must be_ really _upset._ Dan’s brows furrowed in worry. They both just sat there. Kevin gazed out the window, depressed by the fact that Dan didn’t even want to be seen in public together. He’d forgotten the fact that no one _could_ see him, and that thought hadn’t returned. Dan played with his fingers, waiting for Kevin to say something. He hoped that no one would kick them out for loitering, but now that wouldn’t matter. There was nothing there. No traces of Kevin’s body, or that it had ever been there. Was it the right theater? It had to be.

“How about we check out your flat? Maybe there’s something there,” Dan suggested. Kevin shrugged.

Once Kevin begrudgingly gave Dan the address, he started to drive to it. Kevin went back to gazing out the car window, scanning the buildings that he’d seen so many times. But now, they had a different feel to them. Or maybe that was just Kevin. He wondered what would wait for him at home. Probably nothing. After all, he hadn’t been there in a few weeks or so. Ever since he… _got hit by a car._ Kevin remembered. He finally remembered, but he didn’t want to say anything—to Dan, that is. He couldn’t bring himself to. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to talk to Dan, he barely wanted to be near him. After all they’ve been through, Dan suddenly had a change of heart. For the worse. Like… like Kevin didn’t even…

Minutes later of staring out the window at the foggy, moist landscape, Dan announced one more time, “we’re here.”

Kevin faced Dan but did not look directly _at_ him. He didn’t want to. Dan got out of the car first, then Kevin. Kevin’s eyes widened once he saw a note taped to the flat’s door. He bolted to the door and ripped off the paper, knowing what awaited him on the note.

“Feck!” Kevin screamed, his blood boiling. “Goddammit!” Kevin groaned and clutched his hair. He paced in circles.

“Kev-” Dan started in a soft voice but was interrupted by the furious shouting of Kevin.

“You! This is all your fecking fault! If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this mess. If it wasn’t for you, I would already be at home but now I’m fecking _homeless!“_ Kevin faced Dan and screamed at him before storming off and shoving the eviction notice into his pocket.

“Kevin!” Dan called for Kevin desperately, but Kevin only sent him the middle finger as a response.

“Dammit,” Dan mumbled and got in his car. All he did was sit there.

“What did I do? I don’t understand,” Dan thought out loud in a whisper as hot tears flowed down his cheeks. He rested his head on the steering wheel, not knowing what to do in this situation.

Minutes after, Dan wiped his face and turned his car on. He was starting to get cold. He turned on his heater and he almost immediately warmed up. He imagined how Kevin must feel if Dan is even cold in a _car_. For now, Dan couldn’t go find him. He didn’t want to face him right now, it might make Kevin more enraged. So all he did, for now, was sit. Sit and think. Think about what could’ve gone wrong. Suddenly, he got an idea. He would check the hospitals while Kevin was gone.

First, Dan drove to the hospital closest to the movie theater. He parked in the huge parking lot and exited his car, locking it behind him. It was dark out, but not completely. The rain clouds made it appear darker than it actually was. Dan speed-walked towards the entrance to the sizable hospital.

He pushed through the glass doors and walked up to the receptionist. There were a few people waiting in the lobby, but it wasn’t that busy.

“Hello, how may I help you?” The receptionist asked in a friendly tone.

“Is there a Kevin in this hospital?” Dan asked, not knowing Kevin’s last name.

“Yes, there is one, I believe,” the receptionist asked and typed something on the computer.

“Okay, thank you,” Dan smiled.

“Floor 3, room 9,” the receptionist smiled and Dan was off to the elevator.

The elevator music tested his patience. If this wasn’t the right Kevin, he would have to search all of the others. Not that he didn’t want to, but he wanted to find Kevin as soon as possible and make things right with him—for whatever he had done.

The elevator made a _ding_ sound, which indicated that Dan was on floor three. The wide metal doors slid open and Dan walked out into the exceedingly bright hallway. There was no one else on the floor, not even a single nurse. Dan thought that it was weird.

As he got closer to the door, his mind went crazy. He got odd vibes from being there and he didn’t know why.

Once he arrived at the door, he saw something extraordinarily weird. _‘WRONG HOSPITAL, HURRY UP—TIME’S RUNNING OUT.’_ was scratched onto the wooden door in all caps. He blinked once, and it was gone. He heard people walking behind him, so he turned around to investigate. There were nurses and doctors and some visitors walking and standing around like they had been there the whole time. Dan ignored it and opened the door to the hospital room. Just as the warning had said, it wasn’t the right Kevin. It was an old man. Dan gently shut the door and rushed back to the elevator.

Dan spammed the button for the elevator to open, his nerves getting the better of him. Once the doors of the elevator opened moments later, Dan scurried inside and spammed the button to get to the lobby. Once the doors closed, Dan saw _‘TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK.’_ written in what Dan assumed was blood on the elevator doors. He blinked, and once again, the writing was gone. Just like it never was there in the first place.

The elevator dinged once Dan was in the lobby and the door opened a second after. He ran out once he could and burst out of the hospital doors. He made a beeline for his car, frantic.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Dan muttered once his car wouldn’t start. All of a sudden, the radio turned itself on, even though the car was off, and an eerie, deep voice spoke: “Time’s running out…”

Dan tried to turn on the car again, this time he prevailed. He briskly pulled out of the parking lot and drove, full-speed, towards the next hospital. He drifted into the parking lot and parked his car as close as he could to the front of the hospital. He was in such a rush that he didn’t even bother to lock his car. He sprinted through the front doors of the hospital and up to the receptionist.

“Do- is there a… is there a Kevin here?” Dan asked, out of breath.

The receptionist gave him a weird look, mostly because he was soaking wet from the pouring rain, “yeah, there’s three.”

“Thank you, thank you. What’s the room numbers?” Dan asked quickly, in a rush. The receptionist gave Dan the three room numbers, and he was off. One was on the second floor, and the other two were on the fourth. Just his luck. He had to search a lot more than he’d expected. Hopefully, the messages would help him, if they were even trustworthy. So far, they were.

He took the stairs instead of the elevator, that is because with the elevator he’d have to wait for it to open and close. He could easily just sprint up the stairs.

On the door of the first room was the word, _‘COLD.’_ Okay, that one wasn’t the right Kevin. He ran back towards the stairs, and then up them to the fourth floor. It was tiring, but it was all for Kevin. Dan didn’t know why, but he’d die one million times for Kevin, possibly even more.

The door of the second room had the word, _‘WARMER.’_ That one wasn’t the right Kevin either. He sprinted down the long hallway to the final room. There were no words on this one, but Dan already knew that this was the right room. He had a gut feeling. He opened the door slowly and quietly and turned on the lights. Kevin was there. The _right_ Kevin this time. The only thing that unnerved Dan were the two words written in blood on the wall above Kevin.

**_‘TOO LATE.’_ **

All of a sudden, Dan heard the heart monitor flatline. Dan rushed to Kevin’s side. “No, no! Kevin, no! You can’t do this to me! Kevin!” Dan shook Kevin’s now lifeless body, tears welling in his eyes. He buried his face in Kevin’s chest and balled. “Kevin… Kevin, no…” Dan mumbled.

Dan heard it. The beeping. And the beeping gave him hope. He stopped his wailing and snapped his head up to look at the heart monitor. Everything was normal. It was like it never happened. When he looked back at Kevin, his blankets were blood-soaked, just where Dan had been crying. Tears forced themselves out of Dan’s eyes, he didn’t even feel like crying anymore. He had nothing left to give. He glanced down at the floor to see drops of blood—drops of blood that should’ve been his tears. They wouldn’t stop. They just kept on flowing without his consent.

More and more blood flowed into view, flooding the ground and walls and everything. “What? Why is this happening? Why are you doing this?” Dan screamed. He knew it was the figure. Why wouldn’t the figure leave Kevin and him alone? They didn’t deserve this, of all people. What did they even do?

Once Dan blinked, everything was back to normal.

Kevin continued on, running to seemingly nowhere. He didn’t stop until it was pitch black out. He was in a park, lit only by fancy street lamps. He slowed his pace to a walk and sat down on a nearby bench that was underneath one of the lights. He sighed, releasing the tension a tad.

He got fecking _evicted_. He didn’t know why he took his anger out on Dan in that way; it wasn’t right of him to do that now that he started to reminisce about it. Kevin looked up at the sky. The rain had gotten much worse. It was now pouring. Kevin didn’t mind. Not at all.

He still couldn’t believe Dan, and what he had said to him. How _“it would be weird.”_ Kevin felt betrayed if he was being honest. Even though he had said… _that_ , Kevin had no right to put all of the blame on Dan. Dan didn’t even know he existed a few days ago. He felt like shit because of that. He just wanted to apologize, but at the same time, he _didn’t_ want to.

He didn’t know what he was waiting for, but he sure was waiting for _something_. Maybe for Dan. After all, it was really fecking cold. He could only hope that he wouldn’t get hypothermia out here in the freezing rain. He thought about it more and realized that he shouldn’t _wait_ for things to happen. He, instead, should _make_ things happen. It’s not right to just wait for everything to come straight to you. Because, in reality, that’s not what happens. If you want something to happen, you have to go for it.

So, that’s what Kevin did. He got up and sprinted the best he could in the direction he came.

He didn’t know why he had expected Dan to be there. As he should’ve expected, Dan wasn’t there. He and his car were both gone.

“Dammit!” Kevin yelled and kicked the wall of his flat, but immediately regretted it when it hurt. Kevin hated desolation. More so, he loathed it.

“What am I going to do now?” Kevin mumbled in question. _My life’s a shit-show._ Kevin thought frustratingly. Why did he expect everything to go smoothly? Why did he think that Dan was going to be there, waiting for him to come along and apologize? Of course, it wasn’t going to happen. Now he’s never going to see Dan again.

The sound of a car pulling up startled Kevin. It was, miraculously, Dan’s car. Hopefully, it was Dan who was inside. And, whenever Dan jumped out and ran towards Kevin, he didn’t back away. He welcomed the hug with open arms. Literally.

“Kevin, I’m so sorry,” Dan cried silently, salty tears mixing in with the rain. The two were sopping wet and continued to as rain poured down. Kevin rubbed small circles in Dan’s back soothingly.

“No, Dan, there’s no reason for you to be sorry,” Kevin pulled them apart, but they still held onto each other, “I should be sorry. I overreacted and took my anger out on you. It wasn’t right. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course, Kevin. But we really need to go,” Dan whispered hurriedly. He pulled away from the embrace and strode towards the car to get in. Kevin got in as well, in the passenger’s.

Dan backed out of the driveway as fast as humanly possible and pulled onto the street. He sped, probably 50 mph over the speed limit. “So, are you going to tell me what we’re running from?” Kevin asked, a bit worried.

“Uh, just look in the backseat.” Dan chuckled nervously.

“Holy feck! Is that me?” Kevin screamed. It was, in fact, his unconscious body laying in the backseat.

“Yeah, and now the cops are after me for stealing you,” Dan chuckled at his own statement. He kept on speeding, hearing the police sirens in the distance. They were soon out of Dublin and the sound of sirens faded away. They were on their way home. Once they get there, they had no idea what they were going to do to get Kevin back in his body.

“Thank you,” Kevin whispered softly. He truly loved Dan. Wait, what? Kevin confused himself by that sentence that he had thought. Well, maybe he did—love him, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucky you, I felt generous to post this chapter early...
> 
> Anything you need to send or tell me? You can reach me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	4. When Is It Enough

Dan did not stop for anything on the way home. After a few hours, they finally arrived at home. They both were tired and soaking wet and hungry. Once home, Dan opened the door to the backseats and grabbed Kevin’s unconscious body.

“Holy shit, you’re heavy!” Dan exclaimed once Kevin was in his arms.

“Let me carry… _me_ , then.” Kevin offered, and Dan handed Kevin to himself. He would admit that it was weird to carry himself. Dan held the front door open for Kevin and pursued him. He locked the door behind them both.

“Uh, I’ll just set myself on the couch then,” Kevin stated and did that.

“I’m taking a shower, you do whatever you want until then,” Dan said before disappearing around the corner.

This was all so bizarre for Kevin. Well, why wouldn’t it be? He literally is seeing himself in person and he just _carried_ himself. Ugh, this was weird. Kevin turned on the TV and the XBOX. He grabbed a controller and sat back down on the couch. He played Minecraft until Dan was out of the shower.

“You can get in, now,” Dan peered around the corner to tell Kevin, then headed to his room to get dressed. He paused the game and went to take a shower. The abrupt change in temperature inflicted goosebumps on his skin. He still couldn’t get over the fact that he had no reflection in the mirror. He hoped that he and Dan could find a way to get himself back in his own body. He thought about many different things while in the shower.

Once he got out of the shower, he realized that he had no dry clothes to wear. Feck, he forgot to ask. Kevin dried off with a towel before wrapping it around his waist. His hair was still a bit damp, but it didn’t bother him. He exited the bathroom and started to look for Dan, who he found in the kitchen, cooking something on the stove.

“Dan?” Kevin got Dan’s attention. Once he glanced at Kevin, he immediately looked away, a blush creeping up his face.

“K-Kevin! What are you doing? Get some bloody clothes on!” Dan refused to look at Kevin.

“That’s exactly what I’m here for. I don’t have any.” Kevin stated.

“O-okay, I’ll go get them.” Dan rushed off to his room, avoiding looking at Kevin. Dan knew that Kevin was enjoying this, enjoying Dan’s embarrassment. _Fuck you, Kevin._ Dan flipped Kevin off in his mind.

Once in his room, he flicked on his lights and searched through his drawers for something that Kevin could wear. Once he got a set of clothes, he left the room and entered the kitchen where Kevin was waiting. He was checking out what Dan had been cooking.

“Here,” Dan held out the clothes to Kevin and avoided even looking at his face.

“Thank you,” Kevin smirked evilly.

“I hate you, Kevin,” Dan groaned as Kevin disappeared around the corner.

“You know you love me!” Kevin yelled before entering the guest bedroom to change. Dan didn’t know why that sentence made him fluster so badly. _Maybe I do, Kevin._ Dan thought. _Wait, no! No, he’s just his friend._ Can you love friends? Can you love friends in the way Dan loves Kevin? Dan returned to cooking eggs and bacon for dinner. Breakfast for dinner, always the best.

A few minutes later, Kevin appeared in the kitchen. “That smells great,” Kevin smiled and strode up next to Dan so he could watch him cook.

Soon enough, dinner was dished out onto two plates. They both sat at the table and ate in silence at first.

“So, any ideas for how I’m going to get back into my body?” Kevin asked, then chuckled when he added, “that’s a brand new sentence.”

Dan chuckled, “I don’t know, maybe just touch your body or something?”

“But I already tried that when I carried myself,” Kevin replied, “maybe we’re missing something, but I’ll try it again. This time with my eyes closed.”

Once they were finished eating, Dan picked up the plates and gently sat them in the sink. Kevin followed him to the living room where his own body was.

“Okay, try touching your body. And yes, this time with your eyes closed.” Dan suggested. No matter how he phrased it, that sentence would always sound weird, _especially_ out of context.

Kevin and Dan sat down on the floor next to the couch. Kevin closed his eyes and laid his hand on his body. He held it there, but nothing happened. However, he persisted. He refused to give up. No matter what, he would get back in his own body. _No matter what._

A few minutes later, in some way, something happened. Kevin’s finger glowed and so did his body where he was touching it. Eventually, he was sucked into his body.

“Kevin? Kevin! It worked! Yes!” Dan exclaimed.

Kevin didn’t wake up, though. “Kevin?” Dan whispered gently. He sat and watched for a few moments. What if Kevin never woke up? What if this was it?

A smirk from Kevin told Dan that he was faking it. “You fucker,” Dan laughed, “you scared me. Fuck you.”

Kevin sat up. “So, I’m finally back, huh.”

“Yup, you must be.” Dan smiled, happy for Kevin. They were finally safe from the figure.

The two played Minecraft for about 20 more minutes, enjoying every second spent together before they both headed to bed. They both had a long day. It must’ve been early in the morning already. Dan waved Kevin goodnight and the two headed to their separate rooms.

Dan woke up. He was drowsy, but couldn’t fall back asleep. He already knew where this was going, but chose to ignore it. The figure couldn’t do anything to him or Kevin now that they were finally out of the Dreamscape. Could it? Dan refused to believe that the figure could do anything.

Dan glanced at the clock with weary eyes. It was 10 in the morning. It was already daytime. Why hadn’t Kevin woken him up yet? Dan slipped out of bed and exited his room. For being 10 in the morning, it was awfully dark outside. There were no… stars… No. No, no, no, no, no. Dan’s heart started to race. He felt like it was going to burst straight out of his chest due to how fast it beat. He tiptoed down the hallway, towards the foyer. He glanced into the kitchen once he arrived in the foyer. Nothing. Next, he glanced into the living room.

“Fuck! Kevin!” Dan screamed once he saw it. Kevin was laying on the ground flat on his back with blood all over, as well as under him. Next to him were the words _‘TOO LATE.’_ written in what Dan assumed was Kevin’s blood. He chose to ignore it and rushed to Kevin’s side.

“Kevin! Kevin, no! Not again!” Dan screamed and cried into Kevin’s shirt. He cried and cried and cried. Eventually, he had nothing left to give.

“No, this is a dream! Stop messing with me! Why don’t you leave us alone?!” Dan screamed at the top of his lungs.

He was met with silence.

“It’s your fault,” Kevin’s lifeless body spoke from underneath him.

“No, Kevin. Stop!” Dan wailed.

Dan awoke in a cold sweat. He had tear stains left on his face from crying. He started to hyperventilate as he clutched his shirt. Thank goodness it was only a dream. Even if it was a frightful and grim one. It was fucking scary.

After calming himself down, Dan got out of bed and left his room. He headed straight to Kevin’s room, sniffling from crying earlier.

Dan opened the door slowly and peered in the room before entering and closing the door behind him. “Kevin?” Dan asked silently.

Kevin must’ve been a light sleeper because he replied with a barely audible, “yeah?” Kevin sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. Dan walked closer and sat on the bed next to Kevin.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, obviously worried. Kevin sat cross-legged and faced Dan, his brows furrowed in concern.

Dan wiped his eyes, “I just had a nightmare. I thought that now you aren’t in the Dreamscape anymore, everything would’ve been fine.”

“Dan, it’s okay. It was only a dream. Whatever it is can’t hurt us,” Kevin whispered softly, “c’mere.”

Dan accepted the embrace without hesitation. They sat there, hugging each other for minutes, not wanting to let go of each other. They wanted each other, they needed each other.

Eventually, Kevin pulled them apart and spoke, “We should get some sleep, yeah?”

Dan whispered, “can I sleep with you, Kevin?”

Kevin nodded after a moment of thinking, and they both got under the covers after Kevin shut off the lamp. Dan curled up next to Kevin, who wrapped his arms around Dan protectively.

“Goodnight, Dan.” Kevin smiled.

“Goodnight, Kevin. Thank you.” Dan smiled as well, all though neither of them could see each other’s smiles. Maybe everything was going to be alright. With Kevin, Dan felt a sense of security. He felt like everything _would_ be alright.

The next morning, Dan woke up to see Kevin’s side of the bed vacant. _Kevin must be out in the kitchen or living room, then._ Dan thought. He got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. The morning sun shone through the big, open windows.

He could hear singing from the hallway. It was coming from the kitchen. It was Kevin, and he was singing Country Roads from what Dan could tell.

“Morning,” Dan grumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he entered the kitchen. He could smell the appetizing scent of breakfast. He didn’t know what, though. It wasn’t bacon or eggs.

Kevin glanced in Dan’s direction and halted his imposing singing, “good morning, Dan! How did you sleep?”

“I slept great, thank you. What’re you making?” Dan asked as he walked up next to Kevin to see what he was making.

“Hash browns!” Kevin cheered.

“Mmm, potatoes,” Dan hummed, then sat down at the dining table. A few moments after sitting down, Kevin handed Dan a plate before sitting down across from him.

“How about we go do something today to get our minds off of things?” Kevin suggested after he swallowed a bite of the surprisingly delicious hash browns.

“Sounds great,” Dan glanced at Kevin and smiled, “now that we actually can.” Then, all of a sudden, realization kicked in. _So_ that’s _what Dan meant before. It was weird because no one else could see me._ Kevin clapped his hand on his forehead as he realized this.

Dan shot Kevin a confused look. “I just realized something,” Kevin responded to the look.

“Oh,” Dan chuckled.

“So, got any ideas on where we should go?” Kevin asked once they were both almost finished with their breakfast.

“Hm, I don’t know. There’s a small café around here,” Dan suggested. He just hoped that people weren’t out after him. Hopefully, the news didn’t spread that fast. The police are probably only searching around Dublin. For now.

“Sounds good,” Kevin smiled.

Once the two were finished with their breakfast, they decided to play some Minecraft together to pass the time.

“I found diamonds!” Kevin exclaimed and dug the diamonds with his iron pickaxe. He was strip-mining when he suddenly ran into them.

“What, really?” Dan asked, surprised.

“Yeah, really,” Kevin said. He counted six of them when he finished mining them.

“I have six, you can have half,” Kevin added.

“No, you keep your diamonds,” Dan refused.

“No, Dan, you can have three,” Kevin persisted.

Dan rolled his eyes and smiled, “fine, Kevin. If it’ll make you happy.”

“Oh, it’ll make me a very happy boy.” Kevin chuckled as he bunny-hopped down his strip-mine and back up to their house.

Once the two met up at the house, Kevin gave Dan his share of the six diamonds. Dan crafted a diamond sword and saved the third diamond for if he ever gets any more. “Alright, I’m gonna go get some food, I’ll be right back,” Dan said and ran off out of the house. Kevin smirked when he got an idea.

Kevin picked up his bed and then placed it next to Dan’s. He wondered if Dan would notice. Meanwhile, he smelted some iron in the furnace and crafted new iron armor to replace his current worn-down set. Dan soon returned with almost a stack of pork.

“I got the—hey, Kevin?” Dan asked.

“Hm?” Kevin acted innocent.

“Did you put your bed next to mine?” Dan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but I think I saw Herobrine come through here,” Kevin tried his best to keep a straight face.

“Oh, _really_?” Dan asked, not believing Kevin’s word.

“Mhm.” Kevin hummed.

“Sure, Kevin,” Dan chuckled.

A few hours of mining and crafting later, the two were getting hungry again. Dan turned off the XBOX and the TV before they both headed to their separate rooms to change out of their PJs. Earlier, Dan had thrown Kevin’s clothes that he first wore into the wash. Now they were neatly folded on top of his dresser. Kevin decided to wear those.

Dan thought about what to wear, but when he couldn’t decide, he threw a random everyday outfit on. When he left, Kevin was already waiting by the door. “There you are,” Kevin greeted.

Kevin wore a light gray sweater and dark blue jeans, along with some brown boots. “Here I am,” Dan smiled. Dan wore a white hoodie, black jeans, and black Converse. Kevin would admit that he looked nice. And Dan would admit the same about Kevin.

“Ready to go?” Kevin asked. When Dan nodded, Kevin opened the door for Dan. Outside, he was greeted by the crisp fall air. It was chilly out, which is why he chose to wear a hoodie. He, of course, had just a gray t-shirt underneath it, just in case it got hot. The leaves were starting to turn all sorts of warm colors: reds, oranges, and yellows. It was beautiful. Some brown leaves that had already fallen littered Dan’s front lawn. He’d have to rake them into a pile later and jump into them with Kevin.

Kevin offered to drive, but Dan insisted that he drive. Kevin probably didn’t have his license, anyway. So, Kevin got into the passenger’s seat, per usual, and Dan got into the driver’s. It took only a few minutes to arrive at their destination. It was a small, modern-looking café that had the vibe of Starbucks to it. They parked in front of the small café and hopped out.

Kevin wished that he was able to pay, but his wallet wasn’t with him. He and Dan would have to go down to Dublin someday and collect his stuff once Dan’s name cleared up. He presumed that stealing an unconscious person from a hospital was a horrendous crime. However, Dan had the permission of said unconscious person to do that. Not that they could just tell the police that though.

Kevin rushed in front of Dan and opened the glass café door for him. Once he opened the door, a bell ringing could be heard. “Welcome! I’ll be right with you in a sec. Go ahead and find somewhere to sit.” A waitress greeted the two from where she was behind the counter. Dan and Kevin looked around. There were a few groups of people in there, but it wasn’t too crowded. There were plenty of open tables left. Kevin led the way to a small table next to the big window. The two sat down opposite each other at the neat table.

“So, this is a nice, little café,” Kevin smiled, “how’d you find out about it?”

“Yeah, it is,” Dan agreed, “I noticed it when I drove by here one day.”

“Hello, my name is Allis, I’ll be your waitress for today. Would either of you like any drinks?” The waiter that had greeted them when they walked in handed them each a menu. She then pulled out a notepad and pen presumably for taking their orders.

“Uh, a coffee for me,” Kevin smiled, “black, thank you.” Allis wrote Kevin’s order down on the notepad before looking at Dan, indicating that it was his turn to speak.

“I will have tea, please.” Dan smiled. Allis wrote down Dan’s order as well on the small notepad.

“Is that it for you guys?” Allis asked nicely.

“Yeah, I think that’s it,” Kevin nodded.

“Okay, I’ll be back with your drinks in a bit,” Allis smiled before disappearing into the kitchen.

Kevin and Dan both picked up their menus to browse what the café had for lunch. Kevin decided to get a BLT sandwich, and Dan decided to get a Caesar salad.

A few moments later, Allis came back and sat their drinks in front of them on the table. “Would you guys like to order yet?” Allis asked, taking out her notepad and pen once more. Kevin and Dan glanced at each other, then back to Allis. They both nodded.

“Okay, what for you, sir?” Allis asked Kevin.

“I will have the BLT sandwich please,” Kevin said. Allis wrote that down before pointing at Dan with her pen.

“I will have a Caesar salad,” Dan smiled at Allis and she wrote that down.

“Okay, I will be back to check on you guys in a bit,” Allis smiled before bouncing away to check on the other customers.

Dan sipped his earl grey tea. It was a tad too hot and burnt his tongue, but he refused to spit it back out into his mug. He forced down that tiny sip. He would wait until it cooled down before he drank anymore. Kevin hadn’t downed any of his coffee yet, he had the idea that it must’ve been hot due to Dan’s reaction. Kevin rested his head on his hand and gazed out the window. He watched the passing cars and examined the nearby buildings. He liked this small town. It was cozy.

“I think I might start a YouTube channel,” Kevin announced out of nowhere.

“Really?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, it’ll give me something to do with my time,” Kevin added. Dan nodded, and they both fell back into silence. A few moments later, Kevin picked up his coffee cup to take a sip when he noticed a small piece of paper that had been hiding underneath it. This spiked his curiosity. Dan noticed Kevin pick up the paper.

“What is it?” Dan asked. Kevin unfolded the paper. It was someone’s phone number, probably Allis’s.

“It’s Allis’s phone number, I think,” Kevin said.

“O-Oh, what are you going to do with it?” Dan asked. He was perplexed by how this tiny paper made him nervous.

“I don’t know, probably throw it away or something,” Kevin shrugged. Dan didn’t know why this made him happy. Kevin shoved it in his pocket.

About a minute later, Allis arrived with their lunch. They both looked mouthwatering. She told them to enjoy their meals before sauntering off.

The two ate in comfortable silence.

When it was time to pay, Kevin wished that he was the one paying. But he doesn’t have his wallet. Or a job. They really needed to go back to Dublin.

Once they made it home, the two were immediately struck with boredom. There was nothing to do. They didn’t want to play Minecraft; they have already played it enough for the day.

So they just turned on the TV. Once it was on, they watched the news. The reporters talked about Dan and how he stole Kevin from the hospital. Dan looked Kevin in the eyes, a worried expression on his face.

“Looks like I’m not leaving the house for a while,” Dan frowned.

Dan decided to sleep with Kevin again that night; he only felt safe when he was with Kevin. Kevin felt guilty about keeping Allis’s number, but he hadn’t thrown it away at all. He couldn’t bring himself to do it for some odd reason. It wasn’t like he and Dan were together or anything, so why did he feel like this? Why did he feel such guilt for something that he shouldn’t?

The next morning, Dan woke up to no Kevin once more. _He must be cooking again. To be honest, his cooking is surprisingly okay._ Dan thought. He got up out of bed, yawned, and left the room. Once he entered the kitchen, however, Kevin wasn’t there. He wasn’t in the living room neither. Nor the toilet. Kevin wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“Kevin?” Dan called Kevin’s name. Where the fuck was he? Dan started to hyperventilate, his heart beating faster and faster with each passing second.

He ran around the house, double-checking every single room. He wanted to phone the police, but they were actively searching for him. Oh no, what if they caught Kevin? Dan paced around the kitchen, waiting it out as he frivolously bit his nails.

Soon enough Dan heard the front door open. He spun around to see Kevin enter. He didn’t notice Dan yet. Kevin gently closed the door behind him. Whenever he laid eyes on Dan, he appeared startled.

“D-Dan? What are you doing up? It’s… early.” Kevin stammered nervously.

“It’s not early, it’s literally the afternoon,” Dan argued, “where were you? You scared the actual fuck out of me.”

Kevin couldn’t bring himself to lie, but he didn’t want to admit the truth at the same time. He decided to go with the truth because lying is always the wrong way to go. Kevin rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “well, remember how that waitress gave me her number yesterday?”

“Yeah?” Dan didn’t see where this was going.

“Well… I sorta called her and… we gave things a shot!” Kevin smiled, hoping Dan would be proud of him. He still had that nagging guilt, but he pushed it away, trying his best to ignore it.

Dan didn’t say anything. But once he realized that he needed to say something, he spoke begrudgingly, “y-yeah, that’s… that’s great.” Kevin didn’t hear the hurt in Dan’s voice. He continued to ramble on about Allis and the date.

 _What the fuck? Why am I hurt by Kevin getting a girlfriend? I should be happy! That’s what friends do—they congratulate their friends and feel happy for them._ Dan berated himself.

Dan ignored what Kevin had to say about the date. Eventually, after Kevin talked on-and-on, he finally said, “I’m sorry that I left without saying anything. I’ll make sure to do that next time. Anyway, you up for some Minecraft?”

“No. I have work to do.” Dan lied before walking posthaste to his room. He felt horrible. Why did he feel like this? He didn’t have any work to do today, so he would just play video games. He felt remorseful about leaving so abruptly, but at the same time, he just didn’t care.

Dan sighed and turned on his PC. He wrapped himself up in a soft blanket and sat down on his comfy gaming chair. Once the computer was on, he logged in and opened up Origin. He decided to play The Sims 4. He hadn’t played that game in a long time. It was dark in his room, the only light being his computer screen. He hoped that it wouldn’t give him eye strain but he didn’t do anything about it.

After lots of sim deaths, there was a knock at Dan’s door. It was none other than Kevin. When Dan didn’t reply, he opened the door anyway. Dan refused to acknowledge the intruder.

“Dinner’s ready if you wanna come eat.” Kevin offered in a soft, quiet voice. Dan didn’t reply. He refused to. Kevin mumbled an ‘okay’ and left the room, leaving Dan to his own devices. So it was already dinner. Dan had been playing The Sims 4 for a long time. He considered going out to eat since his stomach said he was hungry but decided against it because Kevin was out there.

Kevin sat at the dinner table alone, Dan’s untouched plate across from him. He didn’t know why Dan had been upset for the past few hours. Dan couldn’t be jealous, could he? Maybe. _Well, feck him. I’m allowed to have a girlfriend if I want to. If he wants one, he can go get one._ Kevin thought. After Kevin ate, he put up the dishes and watched some TV. He wouldn’t admit that he’d glanced at the hallway every now and then. Actually, he did it pretty often. Dan hadn’t left his room. Well, if he did, then Kevin didn’t see him

He was actually quite happy with Allis so far. She was pretty and sweet. Maybe tomorrow he could invite her over for dinner if she was up for it. Then Dan could see how good of a person she was. Maybe he could get himself a girlfriend then he wouldn’t have to be jealous of his girlfriend anymore.

Maybe meeting Allis for real would cheer Dan up. So, that’s what he would do. He would invite Allis over for dinner tomorrow. It was a perfect idea. It would solve all of their problems. Or so Kevin thought.

“You _what?_ ” Dan exclaimed. It was almost time for Allis to be here.

“I invited her over for dinner. You’re not happy?” Kevin was puzzled.

“No, of course, I’m not happy! I don’t want to meet your stupid girlfriend!” Dan argued, enraged. That crossed the line for Kevin.

“Well, you’re going to meet her whether you like it or not. She is arriving soon, and you will be nice to her,” Kevin demanded, furious as well.

“This is bullshit! Fuck you, Kevin! Fuck you!” Dan screamed before running out the door, slamming it behind him. He got in his car and drove away.

Kevin stood there, not wanting to go after him. He felt a pang of guilt, nevertheless. Kevin removed Dan’s plate from the table and sat it in the sink. He knew that Dan wouldn’t be back for dinner. He just wished that Dan could see the good in Allis.

Another car pulled into the driveway minutes later. It was his beautiful girlfriend, Allis. He opened the door for Allis. She had her brunette hair down to her shoulders. She wore an alluring, purple dress and light makeup on. Allis nodded in thanks to Kevin when he held the door open for her.

“Where’s your roommate?” Allis asked dully, not caring if he was there or not. She still asked anyway.

“He, uh, left.” Kevin looked down, a bit dejected.

“It’s okay, babe. We don’t need him.” Allis smiled.

Kevin showed her to the table. It was set up as fancy as Kevin could make it. Allis smiled at it, her eyes sparkling in amazement. There was a small candle in the middle of the table. Kevin wouldn’t admit it, but he didn’t make it that fancy _just_ for Allis.

“This looks wonderful, babe! Great work! I love it!” Allis giggled. Kevin pulled out a chair for Allis and she sat down on it. He pushed her chair in and walked over to the counter to grab the meal. He dished it out for the two of them and they ate and talked jovially. Kevin didn’t even think about Dan at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	5. We Rise, We Fall

Dan finally decided to go back home. He didn't know what he would come back to, which made him anxious. He had been living in his car and eating fast food for the past two weeks now. He didn't want to face Kevin at all. He didn't want to speak with him or even see him. He honestly felt betrayed. He had detested him, but now the anger and hate had faded a tad. He could see Kevin now, but he didn't know what he'd do when he did.

During those two weeks, Dan reflected on how he had acted and why he'd been so mad. He had come to a somewhat good conclusion: he thinks he loves Kevin. Not in the usual, _friendly_ way. He truly loves him. And he didn't know what he was going to do about it. Probably nothing. He would eventually have to tell Kevin, right? Right? He felt like he had an obligation to do it at some point. It's better to speak than hold it in. But sometimes it's the other way around. You'll never know how the other will react, and how it will affect you. There's no telling.

Dan arrived at his house late that night. The lights were off indicating that no one was awake, or no one was home. It was one or the other. Thanks, Captain Obvious. Dan pulled out his house keys and fidgeted with them on his way to the front door. He was exhausted and needed some real rest. He hadn't gotten much in a while. He lived off of coffee on the days he was drowsy and sleep-deprived.

Dan unlocked the door and sighed before entering. The house seemed vacant. It felt vacant.

Once in the foyer, Dan peeked into the kitchen, where he hoped to see Kevin. No Kevin. He then peeked into the living room, hoping to see him there. Nope.

He walked down the hallway slowly, carefully. He didn't look in Kevin's room; he instead headed straight for his own. He instantly fell asleep the moment he hit his bed.

The next morning, Dan woke up, forgetting where he was. _Oh, right. I'm back home._ Dan didn't wonder where Kevin was. He left his bedroom quietly and headed towards the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal.

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and tried his best to rub the sleep out of them as he lumbered through the hallway. He turned to the left and saw Kevin cooking something on the stove. He rubbed his eyes once more, hoping he wasn't beginning to see things. He only hoped that Kevin was really here.

He stood there, transfixed, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. Kevin looked over to grab another egg from the counter but caught sight of Dan in the corner of his eye. He looked at Dan, staring as he was to him.

"Dan?" Kevin quavered, voice quiet.

"Kevin," Dan breathed. Kevin sat his cooking utensils on the counter and walked towards Dan. He held his arms out for a hug, hoping that Dan would return it. Without hesitation, Dan ran straight into Kevin's arms and squeezed him, sniffling.

"I missed you, Dan," Kevin sounded like he might burst into tears. Dan was already in tears. Tears rolled down his face. Dan buried his face into Kevin's chest, not saying anything. The hug was enough for Kevin. No words were needed.

The two stood like that, hugging each other for what felt like hours. Kevin eventually broke away and met Dan's glassy eyes. They still held onto each other, scared of letting go. The smell of something burning snapped Kevin and Dan out of their trance. Kevin rushed to the egg's rescue, but it was too late. The poor egg was done for.

Dan wished that Kevin was holding him still. He missed the warmth of his embrace. He yearned for it. It's been too long since they'd seen each other. Dan wiped the residual tears away.

"Want any eggs or toast?" Kevin offered with a small smile.

"That would be great, thank you," Dan reciprocated the smile.

As they ate, Dan reluctantly asked, "so, what about you and..."

"It... didn't work out. She turned out to be a rude and toxic person, and she drove me away from you, so... I ended it." Kevin replied, not even close to being upset about the matter. He seemed better now that he let her go. Good.

"How are you, Dan?" Kevin asked a moment later.

"I'm better now that I'm back, thank you." Dan smiled sheepishly and glanced at Kevin, his smile only widening after that.

"You up for some Minecraft after this?" Kevin suggested. Dan nodded, a smile creeping onto his face once more. He couldn't help but smile, he missed Kevin. Maybe too much. Was it possible to even miss someone this much?

///

"Yes!" Kevin rejoiced as he made the final blow on the Ender Dragon, prompting it to fade away and explode into hundreds and hundreds of XP orbs.

"We did it, Kevin!" Dan cheered and gave Kevin a high-five. They'd worked so hard to achieve this. Dan and Kevin rushed in to collect the XP, both collecting many levels. It was the first time that Kevin ever beat the Ender Dragon, but Dan had already beaten it many times. Dan and Kevin jumped into the End portal. They'd have to come back sometime and go to the End City to obtain an elytra -- hopefully.

The credits rolled and, when they were over, Dan and Kevin were back home. Kevin chuckled, thrilled that they finally beat the Ender Dragon. It was a huge accomplishment to them. In fact, it was a huge accomplishment in _anyone's_ book. That is, unless you're an uncultured swine.

After a few more hours of pro-Minecrafting, it was dark in real life. Dan yawned and honestly seemed drowsy. "I'm gonna go catch some Z's," Dan slid off of the couch.

Before he disappeared off into the hallway, he poked his head back around the hallway with a smile and sleepily spoke, "night, Kevin." Kevin waved and turned back to Minecraft. He wasn't ready to go to sleep yet. He decided to build a bigger, better house. In the front of the house, he kept his horses Beyblade and Shit in a small, suffocating pen. Kevin's horses spun -- he couldn't tell if they adored or loathed him.

He moved his pit cows into a different pit next to their new house. He made sure to feed them lots and lots of wheat so they would give birth to many more cows. The more suffocation, the better. But if you put too many animals in too small of a space, some will die because they can't fit. But they're perfectly fine when they're already clipping into each other.

About an hour later, Kevin felt sleep catch up to him. He turned off the XBOX and the TV before heading to bed. He was a bit upset to see that Dan wasn't sleeping in his room. Maybe nothing was the same. Maybe Dan changed. Kevin hugged his pillow that night, hating desolation because that's all he had felt for the past week or so. Even though Dan was in the other room, Kevin felt like he wasn't even there at all. He had an inclination to enter Dan's room and sleep with him, but he went against it. He would leave Dan to sleep peacefully, alone.

It took Kevin a while to fall asleep that night. He hadn't slept much during the time that Dan was gone. He wanted to sleep, yet he didn't want to at the same time. He couldn't sleep when Dan was gone. He didn't know why he felt that way. Why did he feel like this about Dan? Thinking about Dan made his heart hurt. At least Dan was back in his life. He felt like he should be happy about just that, but his mind refused. He felt like it wasn't enough. Since things were different now, it was worse.

Kevin suddenly awoke. He didn't know what time it was. He glanced at his clock, but no time was shown. He must've accidentally unplugged it or something. It was dark outside, he could see through the blinds-covered window to his right. He didn't bother plugging his clock back in, however. He sat up in bed and rubbed his weary eyes. He was tired, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

All of a sudden, the door creaked open. "Dan?" Kevin whispered, hoping that it was Dan. When he tried his best to see in the blackness, with only a small amount of light seeping through the blinds on his window to help him, he observed that no one was on the other side of the door.

"What the feck?" Kevin hissed and brushed the blankets off of his legs. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and cautiously walked up to the door.

"Weird," Kevin's brows furrowed in confusion. Dan must be pranking him or something. Since Kevin couldn't fall back asleep, he decided that he would get a midnight snack. Maybe that would help fund his doziness and he could finally sleep again.

Kevin opened the door wider -- just enough for him to exit the room -- and then gently shut it behind him once he stepped out. The house was undoubtedly quiet, maybe to an exceedingly great amount. Too quiet, to the point where he could his organs working inside his body. He walked, barefooted, down the hallway that seemed longer and darker than usual. As he got closer and closer to the kitchen, he started to hear static. The strange noise spiked his interest.

He could tell that it was coming from the living room. Was Dan watching something out here? Why was he watching static? Once he turned around the corner, he saw where the noise emitted from. It did, in fact, come from the TV. It was all static. Kevin stood and watched, mesmerized, transfixed. Even though he did not move, the static noise got louder and louder. Kevin clutched his ears as the sound got too loud, too much to bear that it was painful. He felt like his ears were bleeding from the loud noise. Even though his hands were clutching his ears in an attempt to drown out the suffocating noise, his efforts were futile. The sound made its way through his hands anyway.

Kevin dropped to the ground, still clutching his ears with a tight grip, not wanting to let go as if his life depended on it. His eyes were screwed shut and his face was scrunched up in pain. He was like this for minutes, just pain. Excruciating pain lasting minutes, although it felt to Kevin like hours.

Something sparked in him after minutes of trying his best to withstand the suffocating pain. His breathing was ragged and constricted. Kevin let go of his ears, accepting the fact that covering them was useless, and instead used his hands to push himself up and get on his feet. His profuse sweating wasn't helping.

Kevin tried his best to walk down the hallway, falling a few times, but he got back up right after. The hallway stretched out further and his heart beat faster. The further he got, however, nothing changed. The volume of the static stayed consistent, even now that he was meters away from the TV.

Soon enough, his heart couldn't take it anymore. It couldn't pump enough blood to his brain as the need for it got greater and greater. Almost to Dan's room, he collapsed. The noise drowned out with his consciousness.

///

The next morning, Dan didn't find Kevin in the living room nor in the kitchen. He remembered what happened before when Kevin was gone, so he grew anxious. He rushed out of the kitchen and to Kevin's room. He took a deep breath before entering quietly. Kevin wasn't on his bed sleeping like he should've been.

Dan could see a bit of Kevin's hair over the bed. He slowly walked around the bed to the side Kevin was on. "Kevin?" Dan asked quietly.

Once Dan peered around the corner of the bed, he saw Kevin. He was sitting on the floor, hands clutching his hair in a purchase. His face was pale and clammy.

"Kevin! Kevin, are you okay?" Dan rushed to Kevin's side and sat down next to him. It was like Dan wasn't even there. Kevin paid no attention to Dan. He didn't see him there. He didn't notice him. He could hear Dan speaking next to him, but he didn't pay attention to it. The speaking sounded gibberish to him as his mind tried its best to block out the noise.

"Kevin! Kevin, speak to me," Dan whisper-yelled, his heart beating fast, anxious. Dan grabbed both sides of Kevin's face and forced Kevin to look at him.

"Kevin, what's wrong? Did- did you see something?" Dan asked. He waited for Kevin to respond.

"You were right," Kevin admitted in a whisper, voice barely audible.

"What do you mean, Kevin?" Dan asked, searching Kevin's blank eyes for anything he could use to figure out the problem.

Kevin didn't respond after that. He stayed silent. His gaze was on Dan, but Dan could tell that he wasn't _seeing_ him. Dan never let go of Kevin's face. His mouth pressed into a firm line and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Kevin..." Dan barely got out.

He started to go into panic, shocked by the whole situation and by Kevin's shocked demeanor. At that moment, he didn't know what to do. Many thoughts ran through his mind, all that he never paid attention to due to his worry. He leaned forward quickly, tilting his head to the side slightly, and pecked Kevin on the lips. He hadn't been thinking straight, delirious from panic, shock, and _Kevin_.

Dan pulled back as fast as he could, rendering what he had just done. _Shit. Shit! Fuck, why did I do that?_ Dan thought and his face flushed. That was probably the most horrible thing to do in a situation like this, and Dan knew that Kevin would despise him after it. But from that action, surprisingly, the color returned to Kevin's face. They both stared at each other for a few minutes, Dan's hands still cupping Kevin's cheeks. _Hopefully, he didn't remember that._ Dan thought nervously. He didn't know what it would do to their friendship. He didn't want to ruin it.

A few moments later, Dan cleared his throat and stood up. "I- I have things to go do," Dan stammered quickly before running off.

Once he left Kevin's room, he gently shut the door and muttered, "fuck." He speed-walked to the kitchen and stood there, pensive. Dan put his hand over his mouth, reflecting on the events that took place over the past few minutes.

"Fuck," Dan sucked in through gritted teeth, "fuck, why did I do that?" _He probably hates me now._ Dan thought. He pursed his lips, deep in thought. A few moments later, he made his way to his coffee machine and began to make some coffee.

Dan took out the pot and filled it up with water. He opened the top of the coffee machine and poured the water in before setting the pot back in place. He then grabbed the can of coffee from his freezer and a coffee filter from his cabinet. He placed the coffee filter and coffee grains in the machine, then he pressed the 'on' button.

Dan leaned on the counter as he waited for the coffee to brew. He could hear the bubbling and boiling from the machine only minutes later. Fumes of the scent of fresh coffee wafted out from the machine, filling Dan's nose up with the fantastic smell. A small, sad smile formed on his lips. He really hoped that Kevin didn't abhor him now. He almost wished that it never happened, but he just couldn't do that. He didn't want to wish it never happened. He wanted to ball up in a pit, hidden from socialization and embarrassment.

Once the coffee finished brewing, Dan grabbed a mug from a cabinet and filled it up with the hot, delicious beverage. He took it over to the dining table and sat down with it. Hot steam came up from the dark liquid as Dan waited for it to cool down, gazing out the window. It was a gloomy day. Ugly, gray clouds covered the sky like a thin sheet, hiding the sun from him. Once he felt that his coffee had cooled enough, he took a long sip of it. He loved coffee; it might just be his favorite drink.

A few moments later, he heard bare footsteps on the wood floor from behind him. Dan turned to see Kevin. He had a blank expression on his face. Kevin met Dan's gaze, but once he did, he quickly looked away and speed-walked back into the hallway. Dan looked back at his coffee, dejected by reality.

He knew that Kevin really did hate him now, and that was it. Dan wanted to drive off again, but he just couldn't do that again. He didn't want to leave Kevin here all alone and let desolation get the better of him. Even if Kevin hated him, he wouldn't just abandon him like that. Last time, he had a reason. If he ran away now, he'd just be a coward.

Soon Dan's mug was completely free of coffee. He didn't bother filling it up again. Instead, he put his mug in the sink and made his way to his bedroom. On the way there, he stopped by Kevin's door, contemplating whether he should talk to him or not. He decided against it, then continued to his room.

///

Once Dan left Kevin's room, Kevin began to ruminate about countless things. He knew that Dan had kissed him. That's what caused him to snap out of his trance. He didn't know whether he liked it or not, nor if he wanted to kiss him again. He was bewildered. Did Dan like him? In that way? Kevin didn't know if he liked him back the way Dan liked him. He didn't hate Dan. He could _never_ hate Dan.

Was this why Dan was so upset before when Kevin got a girlfriend?

He didn't know what to think of it all. He brought his hand up to his lips and stroked them gently, longing for Dan. Dan's lips were so soft. He missed them on his lips. He missed Dan. All he could think about was Dan.

Dan.

Kevin bit his lip in concentration. He wanted to see Dan again. He easily could -- Dan was literally in the same house with him. However, he felt like he wouldn't be able to see him. Well, not without it being awkward. He _could_ play it off like it never happened, or he forgot. But that would be a douche move. He didn't want to be a douche, especially to Dan.

Kevin contemplated his options. Should he go out there, or should he not? Eventually, he decided: feck it. He wanted to see Dan again.

Kevin got up, his bones aching from being in a sitting fetal position on the floor for a long time, and quietly left the room. He ambled down the hallway, anxious. Once he got around the corner, he saw Dan sitting at the table, dejected-looking.

Dan turned his head around and looked Kevin directly in the eyes. _Feck, feck, feck._ Kevin panicked, his eyes widening, and sprinted back to his room.

Feck, now Dan must think that he's a douche, exactly what Kevin _didn't_ want to be. Kevin thought about going back out there but decided against it.

///

It was already night-time. The sun had set below the horizon about an hour ago. Dan sat on the couch, not watching or playing anything on the TV. He then decided that he would go to sleep early that night. It's not like he had anything to do anyway. Usually, he would still be up, playing Minecraft or watching something with Kevin. He'd only eaten Ramen for dinner that night. He didn't have that good of cooking skills, unlike Kevin. Well, Kevin was _okay_ at cooking. He wasn't the best, but he wasn't that bad either.

Dan sighed and got off the couch. He wasn't that tired, he just didn't have anything to do now that Kevin wouldn't talk to him. Maybe Dan just had to talk to Kevin first. Maybe Kevin was waiting for _him_ to say something. But Dan didn't know _what_ to say.

As he walked down the hallway, he contemplated whether he should say something or not.

Dan stopped at Kevin's bedroom door and knocked gently. "Hey, Kevin? I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Good night, Kevin," Dan murmured just loud enough for Kevin to hear through the door. Just before Dan could turn away, the door opened to reveal Kevin. This was not expected. He appeared a bit dejected.

"Kevin?" Dan asked.

"Look, Dan," Kevin started. _No._ Dan knew where this was going.

Kevin sighed before continuing, "just come in." He opened the door for Dan. Once he was inside, Kevin closed it gently. Dan stood there, not knowing what to do. Kevin sat down on the edge of his bed and patted the space next to him, indicating that he wanted Dan to sit next to him. Reluctantly, he did.

"Dan, you shouldn't be sorry. I should be sorry. I ignored you," Kevin met Dan's gaze, "I'm sorry."

"Did you like it?" Dan asked, not thinking. _What the fuck? Why would I say that?_

"W-what?" Kevin knew what Dan was asking, but he decided to ask anyway.

"Did you like it?" Dan repeated. Kevin thought for a second, then responded by leaning forward and closing the gap between them. Dan didn't hesitate in returning the kiss. They both loved every second of it. Kevin realized that he didn't just love the _kiss,_ he loved _Dan_. And Dan loved him.

Once it was finished, they touched their foreheads together and rested there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to post this yesterday, but I was too lazy to get back on my computer :)


	6. To the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some weird shit happens smh my head

Kevin was in the kitchen sitting at the dining table. He was using a laptop that Dan had never he turned the corner. Dan didn't say anything yet, he listened. He leaned on the wall and watched Kevin do whatever he was doing.

"Well, that's the end of this video. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Bye for now," Kevin beamed and clicked something on the mysterious laptop before closing it.

"What are you doing, Kevin?" Dan asked, curious. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped into the kitchen.

Kevin turned around, "oh, remember how I said I was going to start a YouTube channel?" Kevin pushed out his chair and stood up before walking up to Dan with a wide grin on his face.

"Yeah? You started one?" Dan guessed. Kevin nodded excitedly.

"I made coffee since you love it so much," Kevin added moments later.

"Thank you, Kevin. I love coffee _so_ much." Dan giggled.

Kevin gasped. "More than me?" Kevin was mock-offended.

"Hm, maybe," Dan smiled.

"I'm hurt," Kevin held his hand on his heart. Dan rolled his eyes playfully and walked up to the counter. He opened a cabinet and grabbed a mug before filling up said mug with the hot beverage.

They both sat down at the table, Dan with a cup of coffee. "Where did that laptop come from?" Dan asked before taking a sip from his mug. He instantly regretted it as the coffee burned his tongue. He never learns his lesson, does he?

"Oh, it's mine. While you were gone, Allis and I retrieved my stuff in Dublin," Kevin cringed when Allis's name came out of his mouth. Dan did that as well when he heard the name being spoken. They both wished not to go to that small café that they really loved _because_ of Allis.

It was a nice day out, the sun shone and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. "Wanna get breakfast somewhere?" Kevin requested.

"Sure, where?" Dan asked, tapping his mug.

"You'll see when we get there." Kevin shrugged. When Dan was finished drinking his coffee, they left. Dan grabbed his car and house keys and wallet, but Kevin snatched both keys from him. He hurried up and got in the driver's seat before Dan could.

"Kevin!" Dan spoke.

"I have a driver's license!" Kevin argued, "just let me drive."

Dan sighed and got in the passenger's seat, "fine." Kevin laughed, victorious.

Kevin pulled up to the front of the café that they both loved. "Kevin, why are we here? This is where Allis works." Dan retorted.

"Not anymore," Kevin chuckled breathily.

When they entered their favorite café, the bell dinged. The café had a few people in it. They sat at the table that they sat at before. As Kevin had informed, they didn't see Allis anywhere. She got fired from her job because she was being rude to customers.

Moments later, a new waiter came up to them. "Hello, what would you guys like to drink?" The waiter asked. He first handed the two their menus and then pulled out a notepad and pen to take their orders.

"A coffee, thank you," Dan ordered. The waiter wrote it down on the notepad.

"Make that two," said Kevin. The waiter wrote that down as well.

"Okay, that'll be right out in a second," the waiter smiled before disappearing into the kitchen.

"I'm glad Allis doesn't work here anymore," Dan admitted seconds later. Kevin nodded in agreement. Allis ruined everything for them. They both scanned their menus, finding out what they want for breakfast.

Not a minute later, the waiter returned and handed them both their cups of coffee. They both mutter a 'thank you.'

"So, what would you like for breakfast?" The waiter asked, his notepad and pen ready.

"I'll have French toast," Kevin stated. The waiter wrote it down.

"And I'll have the special," Dan said, raising a finger. The waiter wrote that down as well before going off to put the orders in.

Dan took a sip of his coffee before asking, "so, what do you do for your YouTube channel?"

"I'm playing The Sims 4 currently. I might try out other games as well later on," Kevin answered.

"The Sims 4? I love The Sims 4!" Dan breathed. Kevin grinned and sipped his coffee.

///

"I never asked," Dan added a bit later, "what was it that fucked you up yesterday? You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable." Also, what did Kevin mean by _"you were right"?_

Kevin froze. No, he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to remember it. It hurt. Thinking about it brought back the agonizing pain. The static. The pain. It was a never-ending cycle of pain and suffering.

Apparently, Kevin had zoned out again, blocking out any noise for a long time. The only thing that brought him back was the waiter placing his plate on the table. He blinked, confused.

When the waiter walked away, Kevin spoke, "well, that was fast."

Dan shot him a baffled look. "No, it wasn't. What's going on, Kevin? You were zoned out for literally 20 minutes!" Dan whisper-yelled.

"It-it was just a... nothing." Kevin stammered.

Dan rested his hand on Kevin's reassuringly. "Kevin, I'm worried about you. Please, tell me what's wrong."

Kevin sighed before speaking begrudgingly, "I'll tell you later. Not here. Now, let's eat before our food gets cold."

Dan nodded, agreeing, and began to eat his food. The special: two fried eggs, three pieces of bacon, and two pieces of toast. Kevin had delectable french toast.

///

"Man, I'm full," Kevin chortled, hopping out of the car. Dan hummed in agreement, indicating that he was, too, full. Dan was upset that Kevin refused to let him pay for the food. He didn't even let them split the bill!

Kevin opened the door for Dan. It seemed to be a recurring thing -- that Kevin would always open the door for his...

_Huh._

"Ready to play some Minecraft? We can head to the End City today," Dan suggested.

"Feck yeah," heading to the living room with Dan, Kevin exclaimed.

Once the two got in the game, Dan saw the magnificent house that Kevin had built while Dan was asleep. "Kevin, did you-- did you build this?" Dan smiled, admiring the birch and oak house.

"I did," Kevin said with a nod, following Dan around as he checked out their new house.

"Aw, and you have a little pen for Shit and Beyblade as well!" Dan noticed the suffocating pen for Kevin's horses. The house was made out of oak wood with a birch stair roof. There was an overhang connected to a small porch by birch fences. Kevin followed Dan up the steps that led up to the porch, and into the house through double oak doors. The house looked even bigger on the inside. The floor was made of regular stone.

Kevin's bed was on one side of the house and Dan's was on the other. Dan mock-gasped, "Kevin! What happened to our Minecraft beds?"

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, smelting something in a blast furnace. Dan collected his bed, brought it to the other side of the house, and placed it right next to Kevin's. When Kevin exited the furnace menu and saw that Dan's bed had been moved elsewhere, he let out a small chuckle. He knew Dan would do that when he designed the house a while back.

The two gathered their supplies a little while later and then headed for the stronghold. Once there, they both jumped into the starry void that was the End portal. The End was weird without the Ender Dragon there, but they still felt triumph from their accomplishment of killing it. They both had their ender pearls ready to go, ready to throw into the End City portal. The two searched the island, looking for that exact portal.

Once coming upon the portal, they both tossed their end pearls right into it. They appeared on another island, seeing the End City through the obscuring, purple mist.

Kevin trailed torches as he and Dan bunny-hopped towards the End City. As they got closer, the buildings became more visible. They were tall and made out of purpur blocks. The two were eager to see what loot they would find in these imposing towers. They already knew they would find many enchanted diamond tools and armor. They would be set for the rest of their Minecraft lives.

They both entered the tower and looked up, seeing how vast the building was from the inside. The building seemed like it receded forever. Dan and Kevin started to do the parkour, getting further and higher up in the building with each jump. Kevin dodged a projectile shot by a shulker. Dan would say that it was luck, but Kevin called it skill. The first platform had a chest on it, luckily. While Kevin was fighting an annoying shulker, Dan opened the chest and pocketed the contents of it. Dan waited for Kevin to catch up before continuing to climb the tower. Surprisingly, neither he nor Kevin fell. They both had abysmal parkour skills after all.

Kevin got to the second platform first this time. He collected the contents of the chest.

After scouring all End City towers, they had the following:

Eight diamonds, an enchanted diamond pickaxe (Fortune II and Unbreaking), 15 gold ingots, an enchanted diamond helmet (Protection IV, and Unbreaking II), an enchanted diamond sword (Sharpness I and Flame), enchanted iron boots (Feather Falling IV), a diamond chestplate, and, best of all, an _elytra_. They got many more amazing items, but too much to be listed.

They headed home, where they dropped the loot off and played for a few more hours.

Dan shot Kevin a confused look when he paused the game. "Come with me," Kevin stood up and held his hand out. Dan grabbed it without hesitation. He led Dan out of the house and to the backyard. They tried their best to navigate in the darkness.

"Remember the first time we met and we looked at the stars?" Kevin asked, stopping. The two still held hands, not wanting to let go. Dan nodded, meeting Kevin's eyes.

"I wanted to share that moment with you again," Kevin smiled. The two lay down on the dewey grass -- they didn't seem to care -- and gazed up at the stars.

"I haven't looked at the stars in a long time," Dan said in a whisper. There were thousands of stars, per usual. What made it all the better was that they didn't see the moon out there among the stars, for it was a full moon that night. That meant that they could see the night sky much clearer and that it was darker out.

They sat there for what felt like hours, enjoying each other's company and the view of the vast sky that stretched out for what seemed like forever.

"Kevin, you never told me what happened the other night," Dan spoke softly a while later, turning over to face Kevin. He rested his head on his hand and laid on his side. He could see Kevin tense up and his eyes widen.

Kevin took a minute to gather himself together, though it didn't seem to do much. "I," Kevin whispered, then stopped to think, "it was painful."

Dan spoke a second later, "what was?"

"The- the nightmare. It... it felt so... _real_." Kevin looked Dan in the eyes, almost experiencing the pain once more. Dan's eyes widened. He took a moment to think.

 _"He's back,"_ Dan stated darkly. Kevin was baffled by this statement -- he'd only heard Dan talk about whoever the feck it was. He had a feeling that he was going to find out soon enough.

///

That night, Dan slept in Kevin's bed again. He couldn't help himself. Not that it bothered Kevin, anyway. In fact, he loved it. It was nice to have natural warmth next to him as he slept.

Once more, Kevin woke up in the middle of the night. He rolled over and closed his eyes, trying his best to go back to sleep, but insomnia got the better of him. He decided to get up and see what it was this time. He gently brushed Dan's arm off of him and got out of bed, making sure to cover Dan back up before leaving.

Kevin didn't remember leaving the door open, not even just a sliver. He didn't think that Dan would've left it open either. He tiptoed up to the door before peeking out of it. Everything was the same. The hallway was the right length, the right level of darkness. He opened the door just enough for him to exit. Kevin traipsed through the hallway, scared of what might meet him at the end.

At the foyer, Kevin darted his head to both sides, checking both the living room and the kitchen. The TV was normal -- no static or noise this time -- but he stayed on edge. He couldn't shake this feeling of uneasiness and tension off. He took another light step forward.

Like Kevin had stepped on a pressure plate, a figure appeared in front of him. It was dark, appalling, but it did not move -- and neither did Kevin. Feet glued to the floor, Kevin flickered his eyes to stare at the daunting figure. He saw that it had no eyes, nor a face. He'd wanted to look away, the sight becoming too much for him, but he found that he couldn't. Even without eyes, the figure could see Kevin -- it was agonizing.

Kevin couldn't get rid of the pit that welled in his stomach -- it seemed to be stuck there, gaining, building up. "W-What do you want?" Kevin stammered, barely audible.

Not able to move away from this, the figure brought its hand up to Kevin's chest and held it there. "To the stars," the figure uttered in a deep, unsettling voice before shoving Kevin backward.

Kevin watched in trepidation as the figure still stood there -- he couldn't stop his fall, he was stuck there, plummeting towards the ground in slow motion. But he never hit the ground.

Staring through some sort of glass cover, Kevin observed his surroundings. "What?" Kevin shuddered, demented. He reached up to rub his eyes, hoping this was just a dream, but his hands were halted by the glass. He was drifting away from Earth, in space, thousands upon thousands of stars painting the black void around him. He watched as Earth drifted further and further away from him. Panicking, tears threatened with a sting.

"I-I'm in..." Kevin stammered, "I'm in... space!"

It was so alluring, yet so petrifying at the same time. Kevin let go of himself, not attempting to struggle. It wouldn't matter; nothing would matter at this point in time. Nothing could stop him from steadily drifting away, drifting further and further away from his home. But how could he breathe? How was he striving in this dark, empty vacuum called space? That was most likely because of the glass. He was in a spacesuit. He could only wonder how long he had until he would be out of the life-sustaining gas, oxygen. Kevin smiled sadly.

He couldn't bring himself to revel in this, to enjoy the view of his home that he was thousands of miles away from. Then he thought about Dan. What would Dan do without him? It was hard for Kevin to imagine Dan with someone else, happy. No, He should be happy for him. He wasn't good for Dan, anyway. He deserves better than Kevin. Oh, feck. Kevin would never see Dan again. He'd die, slowly over time, in space. Without Dan. He missed Dan. He wanted so badly to see Dan again, to kiss him again.

It's been hours, Earth was only but a small orb; it was the size of the moon when you'd see it from Earth at night. Kevin breathed out a dolorous chuckle. He felt the same that he did hours ago -- tired, despairing. Glancing to his side, he saw the Milky Way, in all its glory. This was the best view anyone could have, but he just didn't seem to care. It was bright, the millions of tiny speckles that clustered together. He didn't want to drift off into the darkness, never to see anyone or anything ever again, he wanted to go towards the light, to the Milky Way -- to the stars.

That was exactly what the figure had said. To the stars. _To the stars._ He wondered if he could touch them if he reached out just enough. He wondered if he could make it to them. He wondered if he could make it that far, smack-dab in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Well, not exactly. He didn't want that, for there was a black hole in the middle of it. He wanted to see a nebula, maybe go inside one. He could withstand the chemicals in his spacesuit, the many different ions of oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine. Maybe he could. He'd have to find out if he were to make it.

Earth was out of sight a while later, Mars coming up next. It was only a speck, as of right now. As he got closer and closer to the red planet, he got farther and farther from the sun. He got colder and colder. If a lack of oxygen wouldn't kill him, hypothermia sure would do it. He didn't want to go out either of these ways. But if he had to choose, he would prefer the latter. He hated not being able to breathe, but as he thought about it more, the more he'd rather die from asphyxiation. He would die expeditious that way. If he died from hypothermia, he would go out a lot slower and more miserably.

Kevin had seen all the planets. He'd passed by them all. The worst part of the solar system was the meteor belt after Mars. Meteors were the size of pebbles there, but occasionally he'd had to dodge ones the size of a bus. It was a scary experience, but after he'd gotten through it, he got to see the gas giants. Jupiter was breathtaking. It was gigantic compared to Earth. It was the fifth planet, and the biggest one out of the solar system. The gas storms inside it swirled and contorted.

After Jupiter was Saturn, then Uranus, and then Neptune. Pluto was very small, dark, and icy. Kevin tried his best to ignore the freezing temperature. It wasn't as bad as it seemed, his suit kept him quite warm compared to the outside. The outside must've been in the high negatives, but inside his suit, his body heat warmed him up. There must be some sort of heat-storing material inside the suit.

Kevin kept on drifting, drifting past Pluto and the dwarf planets beyond. Soon enough, there were no more planets to look at. The sun blended in with the other stars; he couldn't tell where it was anymore, it was only a speck. Time had mixed together as well. Kevin didn't know how long it's been. He wasn't hungry nor thirsty, which was quite odd. He hadn't even begun to run out of oxygen yet as he floated through the void. He could see the Milky Way clearly now. He wished that Dan could see it as well -- except that he didn't want Dan to drift out into space with him. He didn't want Dan to share his inevitable doom.

It must've been weeks already. Kevin didn't know how, but he must've already been _light years_ away from his home that he undeniably missed. That was impossible, but somehow it was feasible right now. It would take humans months to get to Mars, yet Kevin had seen the whole fecking _solar system_ within the span of what he presumed was only a few days.

He hadn't slept, he hadn't eaten, he hadn't drunk anything. For some reason, he stayed hydrated and his stomach never growled. He didn't even have to go... you know. It was all so surreal. He wanted to cry, he wanted to laugh, and he wanted to just _die._ This was a lot to take in. He'd gone further than any human had ever gone, and he did it without even putting in any effort. He was forced into this ordeal. Now he was going _to the stars._ He hadn't said a word, if he ever spoke, his voice would be groggy.

So, he spoke. "Dan. Dan, I miss you," Kevin could barely go over a whisper. All of a sudden, he let it all out -- the tears that he had been holding for weeks and weeks. He thought of mostly Dan. Never mind, scratch that. He _only_ thought of Dan. He thought of Dan as he plummeted through space to his ultimate demise. It was inevitable.


	7. Until We Meet Again

Kevin shot up, seemingly out of nowhere. It was bright. “W-what? Where am I?” Kevin breathed shakily, alarmed. He took in the unknown surroundings. Dan was asleep, sitting in a chair to Kevin’s right. He didn’t want to bother Dan right now. Kevin discerned how peaceful Dan looked in his sleep.

Something was attached to his arm, and it led up to something else. Kevin trailed his eyes up the wire where he saw a plastic bag of water. Was he in a hospital? On life support? What happened?

“Dan,” Kevin whispered to get Dan’s attention, more alarmed than ever, “Dan, wake up!” Dan shot awake and looked around to see what had disturbed him.

“K-Kevin…?” Dan rubbed his eyes, hoping they weren’t lying to him. Before Kevin could say anything else, Dan jumped up and enveloped him in a hug. Kevin took a second to realize what was happening before returning the embrace. The way Dan held him perturbed him. Dan held on to Kevin, scared to lose him, thinking that if he let go, Kevin would slip away again. They sat like that for minutes, holding onto each other in a purchase.

“Dan. Dan, what’s going on?” Kevin asked and pulled out of the hug. His shoulder was damp from where Dan’s head had been. He met Dan’s eyes to see that he was, in fact, crying.

“Dan! Dan, it’s okay,” Kevin comforted Dan by grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Dan wiped his eyes with his free hand and sniffled.

“Dan, how did I get here? What… what- what’s going on?” Kevin searched Dan’s sparkling eyes. Sleep deprivation showed in dark bags under his eyes. What was going on? Why was Dan acting like this?

“Y-You… it’s been _weeks_ Kevin,” Dan mumbled, “I thought- I thought you were going to _die_.”

Kevin pulled Dan into another, tight hug. He didn’t let go this time until he heard the door suddenly open. “Wh-?” Kevin started, pulling out of the hug to see who it was that had disturbed them.

“Daniel Condren, you’re under arrest,” the intruder stated firmly. There were three policemen.

“What? What for?” Dan put his hands up, surrendering as he backed away from Kevin. The police didn’t answer with words. Instead, they answered by pushing Dan up against the wall and handcuffing him. The police then tried to force him out of the room. Dan shot Kevin one last, sad look before the police shoved him out the door.

“Dan!” Kevin ripped the needle and wire out of his arm before jumping out of the bed. He’d underestimated his abilities and didn’t think. Once standing, his feeble legs buckled underneath him. He caught himself on the bed and his legs shook terribly. The bed assisted him in walking, which he was abysmal at. He used everything he could as support to get out of the room.

Once out of the room, he stuck to the walls so he wouldn’t plummet to the ground due to his fragile legs. The police and Dan were meters away from him. Kevin couldn’t catch up, so he slid to the ground, not knowing what to do now. He buried his face in his hands for a second, giving up, but then realized something. It was vital that he get out of there. He didn’t want to be stuck in a damn hospital. Also, he didn’t want to get charged with the medical bills. Running away from the hospital is always the _best_ option.

Kevin gradually got up with a laborious effort and continued down the corridor, heading straight for the elevator at the end. He knew that he would find a way to get Dan out eventually. The only thing was that he didn’t know where he was, what hospital he was at. He didn’t know where home was. Having spent too much time out in space, he feared that he might not even remember what home even _looked_ like.

Out of the hospital, Kevin saw that the police car was long gone. He was surprised that no one had stopped him from leaving. No nurses or doctors had attempted to stop him. They probably didn’t notice him or didn’t seem to care. He stumbled out further into the parking lot, searching for Dan’s car. After a minute or so of searching, He found the car and opened its door. To his luck, it was unlocked with the key inside. Dan could be so stupid sometimes.

Kevin hoisted himself into the car and started it. He didn’t know if he would be able to make it, drowsiness starting to take over. He drove anyway, searching for his home. He passed the café that he and Dan both loved, and from that, he got a better sense of where he was going. He drove for what felt like hours, getting lost once or twice, maybe more than that. He couldn’t count the times he got lost.

Kevin eventually pulled into the driveway and shut off the car afterward. Just before he could get out, his eyes felt heavy and closed without warning. His head hit the steering wheel as he fell into a slumber.

In the middle of a star-filled, jet black night, Kevin lifted his head off of the uncomfortable steering wheel. He rubbed his forehead where the steering wheel had imprinted red marks. Kevin sighed exhaustedly, getting out of the car.

“Feck, my head,” his head throbbing from sleeping in an uncomfortable position, Kevin couldn’t help but complain. He stumbled towards Dan’s house, tripping too many times to count. He fell onto the front door and opened it. Surprisingly, it was unlocked.

Kevin felt like he had something that he needed to do, but too many things were wrong with him at the moment—emotional and physical—that he couldn’t remember. The only thing that he was thinking about was getting some fecking sleep. All he wanted to do at the moment was sleep.

Kevin shut the front door after stepping into the foyer. The lights in the house were on, but he didn’t bother shutting them off—he was too exhausted. He made his way to his room and plopped down on the bed face-first, falling back asleep almost immediately.

He didn’t have any dream that night, except that he kept on hearing Dan’s soothing voice. Calling to him, for whatever reason. He didn’t understand why Dan was calling for him, he was there in the house with him, wasn’t he? He must’ve forgotten. Time flew by, and Kevin must’ve been too delirious to even comprehend what had gone on at the hospital.

When he woke up the next morning, it hadn’t hit him yet—the realization that Dan was gone. He got up out of bed sleepily and lumbered into the kitchen. He promptly made coffee and grabbed a cup when it was finished. As he walked to the table, he noticed what he was wearing.

“What the feck is this?” Almost spilling his coffee, Kevin looked down to examine the gown he was wearing. The hospital gown. He began to recall the events of yesterday.

“Feck, shit!” Kevin exclaimed in a whisper-yell. He sat his coffee on the table where he had planned to sit down and before clutching his hair in a purchase. “Shit, shit, shit!” Kevin hissed, pacing in a circle over and over and over again.

He eventually stopped, biting his lower lip. “Feck,” Kevin muttered through gritted teeth, releasing his hair that had started to ache. How was he going to get Dan out? He didn’t know if he could just bail him out yet; he didn’t know what he got arrested for. The realization hit him. It was because Dan had stolen Kevin from the hospital. But that was _months_ ago! Why did they only get him now? Is a crime like that even bailable?

Kevin sat down at the table to think and sipped his coffee, not minding that it was now cold. What was he going to do? He would have to visit the police station later and talk to the officers. He needed to remember to be civil or they won’t share any information with him. Either way, they seldom give off information. He won’t have much luck, but he sure would still try.

Changing his mind about going later, Kevin ran into his bedroom, changed out of the blasted hospital gown, and threw real, everyday clothes on before bolting out the front door. He started the car and backed out of the driveway. He had no clue where the police station was, so he’d just have to search for it. He remembered seeing it somewhere but he only remembered the general area. He’d gotten a glimpse of it on his way home yesterday through the darkness.

Kevin scoured the area where he’d last seen the police station. After a few minutes of searching, he eventually found it. He pulled into the small parking lot in front of it before exiting the car. Sighing beforehand, Kevin pushed open the glass doors of the small police station and compelled a polite smile on his face.

An officer shuffling files behind a counter glanced up at Kevin before going back to what he was doing, not caring enough to say a word. Kevin strode up to the counter, sliding his hands in his jean pockets. Pursing his lips, he perused his surroundings, waiting for the officer to speak.

Moments later, the officer sighed forcefully before speaking, “okay, what do you want?”

Kevin stopped examining his surroundings and turned his gaze to the police officer. “Dan. Daniel Condren.”

“Pardon?”

“Daniel Condren. I need to see him. I need to see him, _please_.” Kevin pleaded.

“I- He’s not taking any visitors.” The officer stated quickly before shoving the files he’d been shuffling into a filing cabinet that was to the left of him.

Kevin balled his fists but didn’t take them out of his pockets. He didn’t want to have to fight with this officer. It would surely end up with him in prison with Dan, whatever he got himself in there for. It might be better than being _without_ Dan. “What did he get in there for?” Kevin inquired. He wouldn’t go for no answer.

But no answer was all he got. “That’s classified information.” The officer got out from behind the counter and began to walk towards another room. He was stopped by Kevin, who grabbed his shoulder. Kevin scowled, his face screwed up in fury.

“You need to tell me,” Kevin said darkly.

“I don’t have to tell you shit,” the officer jabbed a finger at Kevin, “now get out of my fucking sight before you end up with him.”

Balling his fists once more, this time with more anger to it, he did the thing that he knew he would regret. With a force he didn’t know he had, he swung his fist up and it rammed into the officer’s jaw in a sickening crunch. Kevin glared down at the impaired officer who was now keeled over, clutching his likely-ruptured jaw. Kevin watched in resentment as the officer groaned in pain.

“Now, tell me,” Kevin demanded.

Kevin stared at the smooth, concrete floor, reflecting on his decisions that led up to this point. Turns out, he had cracked the officer’s jaw as well as caused him to lose a few teeth. Kevin didn’t know why it was such a big deal for the officer to lose a few teeth; the officer acted like his son had just been brutally murdered, cold-blooded. After all, teeth grow back. When Kevin lost his teeth as a kid, they grew back. No need to fret.

He was now in a holding cell to stay overnight. It was either this or pay a fine. Plus, he could attempt to listen in on the officers’ conversations from there. He was one step closer to finding Dan.

Eyes flickering to his left, he saw a man wearing all black—a black hoodie that covered his face in a shadow, black jeans, black shoes. Disoriented, Kevin’s eyebrows furrowed. _Was he there before?_ Kevin thought. Suddenly, the man in black turned to look at Kevin. Due to some unknown darkness, Kevin could only see the man’s lower face: his mouth and below.

“You spoke of Dan,” the man uttered.

Kevin blinked. “Y-yeah, I did. Why do you ask?”

“He is in trouble. You must save him, no matter what. Both of your lives are at stake.” The man spoke. Who was this guy, some sort of prophet?

“When in doubt, seek the fire, face the flames.” The creepy man disappeared into thin air after that. Kevin blinked, confusion taking over once more.

That night, Kevin fell asleep on the uncomfortable, wooden bench. While staring at the wall, hoping that at least something would help him fall asleep, he thought about Dan. How much he misses him. How much he loves him. How badly he just wants to kiss his soft lips again. To make up for the loss, he would give Dan a thousand kisses when he sees him again.

Closing his eyes, Kevin drifted off into sleep finally. Knowing that it was only a dream, Kevin opened his eyes and saw Dan, unconscious, a few feet away on a hospital-looking bed, an operating table. He was in an exceedingly bright room. A metal tray on a white table was next to the operating bed. On that metal tray were many dangerous-looking tools: scalpels, drills, etc. Kevin attempted walking closer, his arm outstretched, but with each step he took, the room receded.

It didn’t make any sense; Dan was sent to prison, so why was he on an operating table?

Suddenly, surgeons and nurses emerged from the darkness that encompassed Dan. They connected wires to him and injected a clear liquid from a long and pointy syringe into his arm. Kevin wanted to walk forward again on impulse, but he felt like Dan would drift away once more.

Kevin could only watch as Dan, unruffled, got cut into by the surgeons and their scalpels. He was fine until the heart monitor flatlined, the surgeons and doctors walking back from where they came—back into the darkness—once they’d heard it.

“No! Dan!” Kevin yelled, tears dripping down his cheeks. The surgeons had meant to do this, for a diverting purpose. The room faded away into blackness, matching the shade that surrounded it, lurking, creeping.

Kevin stared into space where Dan had once been, transfixed by what he had just witnessed. He wouldn’t be able to surmount this easily. He didn’t wish to.

 _Wait, this is only a dream!_ Kevin gasped, recognition dawning on his face. _But why does it feel so real?_

Suddenly, a light turned on, coming seemingly from nowhere—Kevin couldn’t see much of anything in the dark. Kevin blinked, baffled. His tears halted as he stared at the sudden illumination.

The light flickering, a man stepped into the center of it. Kevin squinted his eyes to get a better look at the imposing figure. It was the man from earlier, the man who had told him some cryptic bullshit. Seeing this now, Kevin started to think that it might’ve been more than that; the man could’ve been telling the truth. Frozen in place, paralyzed by fear, Kevin watched as the man brought up his hands and rested them on his own face. Kevin was bewildered by this, anxious for what was to come.

The man dug his fingers into his skin and pulled his face apart, revealing the monster that hid underneath. Frightened, Kevin’s eyes stretched wider as he saw the dark figure that had sent him into space, into peril and chaos. He still couldn’t move. His eyes did not move away from the figure, stuck in place by his will to stay alive. Looking away might end horribly. The figure stepped out of the flesh of the man it had once inhabited before lumbering towards Kevin. He was apprehensive. Would the figure send him into space once more?

Instead, the figure stopped a few feet away from Kevin. They both stood, staring at each other in silence until Kevin broke it. “Did—did that really happen? Did he really… _die_?” Kevin stammered.

The dark figure spoke in a compelling voice, “it is bound to but has not yet. You must prevent it—no matter what. The world is at stake.” With that, the figure turned around, disappearing in the creeping shadows.

“Wait! What do you mean? I don’t even know where he is!” Kevin called after the figure, but it was long gone. Kevin ran forwards into the darkness to pursue the figure, but he instead ended up jolting up off of a wooden bench. He was back in the holding cell.

Kevin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, moving into a more comfortable sitting position. Looking up, he noticed that nothing was normal. He was still in the Dreamscape.

It was like being in an old, 50s movie—everything was black and white. Kevin’s eyes flickered down to his hands, which were their normal color. Or his skin was just so pale that it appeared white. He couldn’t tell.

One other thing was different besides that, however. The cell door was wide open, compelling him to exit. So, that’s what he did. Kevin stood up and creeped out the cell door, glancing both ways just to make sure no one was there. He tiptoed through the building, searching for the room where the police kept their records. Soon enough, Kevin found it. It wasn’t hard. There was a sign on the door that read, “RECORDS” in a bold, black font.

Kevin reached for the door handle and turned it, but it was locked. Just his luck. Now he had to do more running around and searching. The only place that he’d think to find the keys would be with a police officer or night guard. Using the process of elimination, Kevin focused on night guards. The police officers would be at their homes, fast asleep.

After more searching, Kevin heard whistling. He turned around the corner and saw a security guard, black and white, unlike Kevin. Not knowing if the guard could see him or not, he swung around the corner, hiding. He planned to wait for the guard to come around the corner, then he would knock him out and steal his keys. It was the perfect plan.

Once the guard came around the corner, Kevin jumped out but somehow phased right through the guard. He hit the ground with a thud. He swung his head around, baffled. He got back up, his tired limbs aching from the fall. He snuck up behind the guard and snatched the keys from his belt.

“Yes!” Kevin whisper-yelled before sprinting back to the records room. He tried the first key in the lock. Not it. He then tried the second. Not it. Lastly, he tried the third. He turned the key and the door unlocked. Kevin smiled in accomplishment.

There were many filing cabinets, all labeled by letters. The letters, Kevin presumed, most likely stood for the first letter of the person’s last name. Kevin scanned his eyes over the many filing cabinets and found ‘C’ seconds after. _Daniel Condren._ Kevin thought with a smile. He pulled open the filing cabinet and searched the top drawer. He flipped through each name.

 _Cooper… Combe…_ Condren!

Kevin pulled the file out of the cabinet posthaste. He realized that waking up was imminent for him. Kevin shoved the file in his jacket before making sure everything was back in place. He tossed the keys somewhere in the hall—the guard would eventually find them—before making a beeline back to his cell, closing the door behind him.

Before he was even able to sit down on the bench, Kevin woke up from it. _Feck, that was close._ Kevin sighed.

Kevin was lucky that the officer didn’t search him before he let him go. He obviously couldn’t have anything anyway, the officer had searched him _before_ going into his cell. There would be no point in doing it again; Kevin had been stuck in a cell the whole night. But little did the officer know, Kevin had the file. The file that contained all of the information to where Dan was located and what he was convicted for.

Back at home, Kevin sat down at the table with a cup of bean juice, also known as coffee. Without Dan there, the house felt empty. The house wasn’t the same in desolation. But Kevin would rather have desolation than anyone _other_ than Dan.

The file was just any ordinary file. Something felt off, however. All information was listed incorrectly. Nothing was accurate except for Dan’s name, height, and age. Nothing was adding up. The file was hiding something. Whatever it was, it had to be on that file somewhere. So, Kevin accumulated an idea.

Kevin briskly rushed to the closest store and asked for a blacklight. One of the workers shot him a confused look but found it for him anyway in the maze of shelves. Kevin didn’t have the time to search for it himself; Dan’s life was on the line. And according to the figure: so was the world. As the worker searched for the item, Kevin ruminated about what the figure had told him.

_“…It is bound to but has not yet. You must prevent it—no matter what. The world is at stake.”_

This statement made no sense.

Dan’s death, how could the world be at stake for that? Was it something related to the Dreamscape?

Kevin opened the folder again, once he was safe at home. He definitely wasn’t _that_ stupid—to open the file right there in the store. He pressed a button on the small blacklight—it was one of those three-dollar children’s ones, but it would still work. Purple light illuminated the page. Everything was changed. Dan’s name, height, and age were the same, obviously, but everything else was different.

Kevin scanned the page.

_“Conviction: ANOMALY._

_Containment: RESEARCH FACILITY NO. 34, SECTOR D. SIBERIA, RUSSIA._

_ID: 85._

_Other information: DANGEROUS, MUST KEEP CONTAINED AT ALL TIMES. KEEP UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MAY AFFILIATE WITH ID. 67.”_

What. The. Feck.

What was all of this? What was the meaning of it all?

Kevin stared down at the paper, shaking, breathing raggedy and unsteady. Why was Dan being kept in Russia? Siberia, Russia? To keep him hidden? From what? Why did he need to be contained and under surveillance?

Thousands upon thousands of questions flooded into Kevin’s mind like a dam that had just broken. He started to hyperventilate, panic hijacking his mind once more. What the feck? What the feck. What the feck. What. The. Feck.

There may be more to this than it had originally seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm


	8. If Tomorrow Never Comes

Brightness flooded in as he opened his eyes that must’ve been closed for a while. He groaned, fighting against the bounds that tied his hands once he found out about them. Where the fuck was he? Why was he tied up like this? Last he remembered, he was being dragged away by the police.

“Good morning, Daniel. I hope you slept well.” A female voice spoke from out of nowhere. Judging by her accent, Dan could tell that she was American, young, probably in her mid-20s. Dan snapped his head to glare at the source. There was a speaker in one corner. On the wall was a blurred window. He could see the woman that had spoken in there. A few people were standing behind her, watching him closely—watching his every move.

“What—where am I?” Dan asked, struggling once more.

“That is none of your concern. Now, let me ask you: are you going to comply, or will we have to drug you again? That is up to you.” The woman spoke again.

“F-for what? What’s going on?” Dan asked, apprehensive.

“We are going to move you to a different room for an interrogation. Now, I am going to ask again: will you comply?” Dan could only see the woman as a blurry figure. He could tell that she does this often. But… what _is_ it exactly?

“I mean, I guess I could. I have no reason to fight.” Dan stated plainly. He could see the woman nod before standing up and exiting the room she was in.

A few moments later, a reinforced metal door opened. The woman walked inside. She had light brown hair that was put up in a ponytail. She wore a white lab coat and held a clipboard close to her chest.

“Hello, Daniel. Someone is coming to undo your bounds in a second. In the meantime, let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. Roberts.” The woman spoke.

Dan nodded slowly. He only wished that he knew what was going on. Not long after, a man in full body armor walked in and undid Dan’s bounds. He pulled out handcuffs to put them on Dan, but Dr. Roberts stopped him.

“There’s no need for that. Escort us, if you will.” Dr. Roberts motioned for Dan to follow her. He complied, keeping his word. The man pursued Dan, making sure that he didn’t step out of line. Not that he would, he was too bewildered by the situation. Mostly, he had no idea what was even going on; it seemed harmless, nevertheless.

They walked through a long hallway. Bright lights illuminated the path, leaving no room for darkness. There were a few other reinforced doors along the way, lining the walls. Neither Dr. Roberts nor the man spoke during this whole trip.

“Here we are,” Dr. Roberts stopped at a door about a minute later. The man opened the door for them, Dan stepped inside first and after him, Dr. Roberts. The man closed the door after them, standing guard outside.

There was a small, wooden table in the middle of the white room and two chairs on either side of it. Dr. Roberts motioned to Dan, indicating that she wanted him to sit down. Dr. Roberts sat down across from him.

“So, Daniel,” Dr. Roberts cleared her throat before meeting Dan’s curious gaze, “you must be confused.”

“Yeah, I am,” Dan admitted with a nod. He leaned back into the chair more comfortably.

“Well, I am forbidden to tell you where you are, but I can assure you that you are in good hands.” Dr. Roberts seemed like she was reading off of a script, albeit she was good at making it _not_ sound like it. However, Dan could see through her little lie.

“What’s going on? Last I recall, I was being dragged away by the police! Now I’m in some sort of fucking lab or something!”

“Daniel, there’s no need to worry. Now, I am going to ask you some questions. You will choose to comply or not. If not, we will put you on drugs to ease your mind. Either way, we will get the answers from you. There’s no hiding from us.”

Dan thought for a second before muttering, “Fine.”

“Good. Thank you, Daniel.” Dr. Roberts looked at her clipboard, pulling a pen from out of her coat pocket and clicking it.

“Okay, first question. Have you experienced anything abnormal lately, or at any time in your life?“

“Uh, I don’t know. Don’t we all?” Dan shrugged, laughing it off as a joke.

“You need to be more specific, Daniel. I can’t go off of this. We won’t do anything to you, we are doing this for the greater good. It’s for your own safety.” Dr. Roberts attempted to reason with Dan—by the looks of it, it worked.

“Well, sorta. I can see things in my dreams. It’s like I’m in a different dimension.” He never mentioned Kevin, just in case if this all went haywire.

Dr. Roberts wrote the statement down on her clipboard before responding with another question, “do you know anyone that might be experiencing anything like this as well?”

Dan could feel himself sweating, or maybe it was just his imagination. He couldn’t tell. He didn’t want to bring up Kevin. He didn’t want to bring him into whatever the fuck this was. These people could be evil, for all he knows. They could just be putting up a facade, to trick Dan, to make him feel safe when he might not be.

Either way, he had to say something. “No, it-it’s just me.”

“Okay,” Dr. Roberts wrote down Dan’s statement on the clipboard before asking another question, “have you been feeling different in the past few months or so?”

Dan swallowed the lump of nervousness in his throat, anxious for what was to come, but it didn’t seem to go down. “No, not really.”

Dr. Roberts wrote the statement down. “Have you been able to do or see things you normally wouldn’t be able to?”

“Yeah, I mean, I guess so. That sorta goes with the first question, doesn’t it?” Dan’s hands were clammy as he fiddled with them underneath the table. Hopefully, Dr. Roberts wouldn’t notice.

“Explain to me in detail what you see in your dreams,” Dr. Roberts said, looking up from her clipboard.

“Well, it’s dark. It feels real. They’re scary, but sometimes not. I might just have a case of lucid dreaming,” Dan tried to ward Dr. Roberts away with the last statement, as well as the short explanations. Whatever was going on with him wasn’t normal, and Dan knew that. Whatever it was, however, he didn’t want Dr. Roberts to know. He didn’t want to end up in some fucking lab, being dissected on a table. _Alive!_

“Daniel, you need to be more specific. You’re being imprudent. It’s best if you answer in detail.” Dr. Roberts wasn’t believing it.

“I don’t remember much,” Dan simply said, which was a lie, “all I remember was a scary shadow figure. That’s it.”

Dr. Roberts sighed, accepting this answer as fact. “Okay, that’s it. For now. Come with me, Daniel.”

“W-where am I going?” Dan stood up, obliging. There was no way he could refuse—he wasn’t the one in control here. He hated that.

Dr. Roberts didn’t answer, she only continued with what she was doing. Dan pursued her out of the room and back into the bright, long hallway. He followed, hands resting in his pockets. The man tagged along, making sure everything was in order. There wasn’t much to look at in that hallway, it was so vacant. Everything he passed looked the same. How did Dr. Roberts know her way around this place?

Dr. Roberts led Dan to a door and the man opened it, shoving Dan inside before closing it.

Dan turned around, terror overtaking his face. “What are you doing? Let me out!” Dan banged on the door, screaming. But the door was made of reinforced metal.

Backing away from the door with cautious steps, Dan examined his surroundings. The walls and floor were padded, adding more to the fact that no one would be able to hear him through it. He spun around. The rest of the room was the same. That is except for a speaker and camera in two separate corners. The camera was locked on Dan, provoking him.

Dan acted on impulse, going to the furthest wall of the room before charging towards and ramming into the door. His arm hurt and he started to feel dizzy after that. He still tried again, even though he wasn’t feeling too great. Once he impacted the door, he started to feel nauseous, ignoring the growing pain in his arm and shoulder. He tried again. The door still wouldn’t budge. Dan stumbled back, ready to try again, but his torpidity level was already extreme. His eyes closed before he face-planted into the ground, unconscious.

While Dan was unconscious, Dr. Roberts and another scientist watched through the cameras.

“Are you sure we should go through with the procedure? Daniel isn’t mentally nor physically stable right now. We should wait.” Dr. Roberts suggested cautiously, scared of upsetting her superior.

The other scientist’s brows furrowed in concentration as he considered this. “Fine, I will give him two weeks. Use this time to get as much information from him and get him to gather himself together. Do not tell him _anything_ or I have no choice but to remove you.”

Dr. Roberts nodded quickly, her face paled. “Yes, Dr. Bailey.” The other scientist, Dr. Bailey, left the room, leaving Dr. Roberts to supervise Dan through the security camera. Dan laid on the ground, still unconscious. She thought that Dan must’ve gotten hurt from colliding into the sturdy, metal door, so she exited the room and looked for a nurse to check up on Dan.

This was the first patient that she… _liked_.

Kevin shut his laptop, sighing. He’d just finished a lot of research and digging into the dark web—the only place where he could find the information that he needed. He knew where the research facility was. It was, in fact, in Siberia Russia. Furthermore, it was far up in Siberia. He booked a flight to Russia. His flight was in two days. Hopefully, Dan would still be alive by then. And hopefully, this was a good idea.

First of all, he would fly to Russia. He didn’t need anything with him; all he needed was his skills and knowledge. And big coats. If in some way, those wouldn’t be enough to go through with this mission, he could acquire weapons and other stuff in Russia.

Kevin got up and lumbered to his room, starting to get tired. It was pitch black outside. Once in his room, he collapsed on his bed, wrapping himself in his blankets before falling asleep.

Kevin woke up, sand filling his mouth. He spat it out in disgust. _Where am I?_ Kevin thought, sitting up to observe his surroundings. It was broad daylight out, sun beaming hotly on his pale skin. There was sand everywhere. He didn’t recognize the area because of it.

Hearing someone groaning next to him, Kevin turned his head to look. A man was sitting next to him, someone he didn’t recognize. Kevin crawled over to the man who started to wake up.

The man opened his eyes—but still not fully awake. Once he realized Kevin was there, he quickly scrambled away, startled.

“Who—who are you?” The man stammered.

“I’m Kevin,” Kevin said, the edges of his lips curling into an amicable smile.

The man looked around, baffled. Kevin sat there, unruffled. The man kept his distance from Kevin. He looked like he hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past few days, or maybe even weeks.

“I’ve been avoiding going to sleep for as long as I can remember because I kept on coming back to these strange, dark places.” The man spoke, fidgeting with the warm sand underneath him.

“It’s really not that bad, actually.”

“For all I know, you could be the dark figure in disguise.”

“You… you know him?”

“I’ve only seen him once or twice.”

Kevin looked around at the wasteland, pensive, before speaking, “I’ve been here multiple times. Well, not this _exact_ place. I’ve been calling it the Dreamscape. You’re the only other person I’ve actually seen in this place.”

“That’s… a cool name. It makes sense. But you’ve… met other people here?”

“Yes, one guy. His name is Dan.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s… not here. He got taken somewhere, to some secret facility or something. I’m trying to get him back. The figure told me that the world was at stake because Dan’s gone or some shit, so I had to. I would’ve done it anyway, though.” Kevin looked down at the sand, fidgeting with a handful of the sun-baked crystals.

“And that, it is,” the figure spoke. The two turned to look at the figure. The figure stood a few feet away from them, staring down at them. Kevin and the unknown man stood up, watching the figure with a sharp gaze. Brian let out a short, muffled scream, eyes wide. Fear crossed his face as he took in the frightening view of the imposing figure.

“Who- who are you? Why do you keep on showing up in my dreams?” The man next to Kevin asked, shivering although it wasn’t even close to cold.

“There is no need to worry, Brian,” the figure spoke. Huh, so the man’s name was Brian. That statement failed to cease Brian’s worry. His eyes widened, baffled at how the figure knew his name.

“Brian, it’s alright,” Kevin said, placing a reassuring hand on Brian’s shoulder.

“Look around you,” the figure spoke, “like what you see?”

Kevin and Brian looked around, examining their surroundings for the thousandth time. Not far from them were skyscrapers, aflame skyscrapers. Surrounding the skyscrapers were more buildings. It was a city. But it was still unrecognizable to Kevin.

“No,” Kevin and Brian spoke in unison, not liking what they observed. It was quite unsettling.

“This… is the future. Unless,” the figure paused, most likely for dramatic effect. It was working. “Unless you stop it. You must find each other in the world of consciousness. Find Dan and the others. Kevin already knows of one other.”

With that, the figure blew away in the wind—like the sand, but black. Black sand. Kevin and Brian exchanged worried glances.

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” Brian asked.

“Not really, but I have some idea,” Kevin stated with a shrug.

Brian opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly stopped by the environment changing. It changed to what it had been before the sand and the fire. They were now in a peaceful field, the tall grass waving in the crisp, autumn wind.

“Uh, what the hell?” Brian spoke. The environment abruptly flickered back to the sand, fire, and desolation.

With that, Kevin felt himself fading away. “I’m waking up,” Kevin muttered, looking at his translucent hands. Moments later, Kevin was back in his bed, wrapped up in his blankets. The morning sunlight beamed through Kevin’s blinds. He could hear the faint, muffled sound of birds chirping outside through the closed windows.

The graceful morning was peaceful but lonely. It wasn’t the same without Dan. That funded his reason to get Dan back. He missed him. Desperately. Kevin left his room, rubbing his eyes. He will pack for his trip tomorrow. But before he did that, he needed to get coffee in his system. Badly.

Sipping coffee from a mug, Kevin sat at the table scrolling through Twitter on his laptop. He’d gained a few hundred followers on there, somehow. All of a sudden, he remembered his Youtube channel. _Shit! I haven’t made a video in a long time. Maybe I’ll have some time today to do that._ Kevin thought.

Kevin opened up a new tab and typed in _youtube.com_ , then pressed ‘enter’. He opened up his notifications tab to see hundreds and hundreds of comments. His video blew up, somehow. All he did was murder people as Jim Pickens on The Sims 4. He guessed that people must love that. After all, Jim Pickens is their Dear Leader.

Kevin chuckled as he read some of the comments. They were a light at the end of the hallway for him. They cheered him up in these darker times. Kevin, finishing up his coffee, opened up The Sims 4 and his screen recording software. Pressing the record button, Kevin started the video:

“Hey there friends, how’s it going? My name is Kevin and today we are playing some more—” A knock sounded at the door. Kevin paused the recording. Getting up out of his chair, he raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting a visitor. Well, maybe the police decided to hand Dan back to him or something. He could only wish.

Kevin sighed before opening the front door.

“Brian?” Kevin asked. _How did…?_

“Kevin! This is so weird,” Brian chuckled breathily.

“Uh, Brian? How did you… know where I live?” Kevin asked.

“Well, after the dream I had—well, the ‘ _Dreamscape’_ as you call it, I woke up with these directions in my head. Turns out, I only live a few blocks away from you.” Brian beamed.

“Okay,” Kevin opened the door wider, “come on in.”

Brian entered the house, Kevin shutting the door behind him. “So, about the Dreamscape. I’m still super confused by this all. It-it’s _mind-blowing!_ You can meet people and then meet them again in real life, remembering them. I don’t know, should I tell someone?” Brian started, sitting down at the table. Kevin didn’t know if sitting down would calm Brian.

“It is, and no. Do not tell anyone,” Kevin replied, walking over to the coffee machine to refill his mug, “want some coffee?”

“Sure, thanks,” Brian said, tapping his fingers on the wooden table.

Kevin grabbed another mug, filling up both his and Brian’s with the delicious beverage. He brought them back to the table, handing Brian his. Kevin closed his laptop and slid it across the table so he could chat with Brian.

“I thought about it walking here, and I’m going to help you. I’ll help you rescue Dan.” Brian said, tone now serious.

“Are you sure? It’s a very dangerous mission.”

“Yes, I’m sure. We have to stick together apparently, and save the world. I’m starting to think I’m just delusional. It was only just a dream.” Brian said, making a gesture with his hands as he said, ‘save the world.’

“No, it’s not just a dream. It really happens. I’m just not sure how or why it does.”

“Okay. Anyway, where is the secret facility?” Brian asked, moving on fast.

“Siberia,” Kevin stated.

“Siberia?! As in Russia? Siberia Russia?” Brian exclaimed, on the edge of his seat.

“Yes,” Kevin looked down into his coffee mug, watching the small, mesmerizing ripples in the dark liquid, “I’ve already booked a flight for myself. If you’re really sure you want to come with, I’ll book one for you as well.”

Brian sighed. “Do you have a plan?”

“Not really,” Kevin admitted, looking down.

“Well then, let’s get planning.” Brian smiled. Kevin met Brian’s gaze, returning the smile.

Dan woke up. _What happened?_ He sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. His head ached horribly. He rubbed his arm that ached as well. Looking down at his arm, he saw that it was immobilized in a sling. Examining his surroundings again, bored, he noticed a metal tray next to the reinforced door. It was a food tray. Dan stood up and walked over to it. Sitting down, he examined the contents of the tray.

There were green beans, a roll, mashed potatoes, and some chicken. There was also a glass of water and a pill. Dan picked up the pill, examining it.

“You hurt yourself pretty badly when you tried to open that door. That pill will help with your head and shoulder.” Dr. Roberts informed through the speaker that was in the top corner of the room.

Dan sat the pill back down on the tray before he consumed his food, famished. After eating, he examined the pill before popping it in his mouth, chugging the water after to help it down. His aching head and shoulder felt much better only a few minutes later.

That whole day, Dan sat in the padded room, pensive.

_What if I never make it out?_


	9. Chasing a Rumor

After many hours of planning, Brian headed home. Kevin helped Brian book a flight to Siberia, the same one that he had booked himself. Early morning tomorrow they’d fly to Russia. He quickly packed a few heavy coats, some thick pants, and boots. Luckily, he also had a beanie and some wool gloves. Once he packed all the things he needed in his backpack, including his passport, he headed back out into the kitchen and opened his laptop.

Restarting the recording, Kevin tried again.

“Hey there friends, how’s it going? My name is Kevin and today we are playing some more Sims 4…”

After an hour of recording, Kevin finally finished off with his outro, then started to edit the video. He had a lot of time on his hands, so he spent a lot of time editing, making it perfect. As the video was uploading to Youtube, Kevin checked out his channel. He had, surprisingly, almost 2,000 subscribers already! Only after one video! Kevin smiled, feeling accomplished with himself.

Since it was dark outside already, and Kevin had a flight early in the morning, Kevin headed to his room to catch some Zs. And catch some Zs, he did.

His dream that night was different. There was no end of the world, he was in a bright hallway. Reinforced doors lined the hallway, each with numbers labeling them. Kevin had an idea of what this was, where he was. And, just as he’d anticipated, the door to his left was labeled ‘85.’

This door wasn’t open. He’d have to start with the hard work this time. Kevin walked up to it and put his ear up to it, but slipped straight through the door as if it wasn’t even there. On the other side, he saw Dan asleep. He looked around, observing his surroundings. The walls were padded. There was a camera in one top corner of the room, a speaker on the corner opposite that.

The strange thing was, however, was that the camera was focused right on Kevin. He squinted his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining it.

He wasn’t.

Kevin slowly walked side-ways towards Dan, alert. His eyes were fixed on the camera that followed him during this.

At Dan’s side, Kevin shook him awake. “Dan,” he whispered, “Dan, wake up.”

Sitting up, Dan groggily spoke, “what do you want?” He rubbed his eyes, not realizing that it was Kevin who was speaking to him. Dan yawned before opening his eyes fully.

“Kevin!? Kevin, what- how?” Fear crossed Dan’s face.

“I’m not really here, Dan. I’m in the Dreamscape. I know where you are, I’m coming to get you. Promise.” Kevin cupped Dan’s cheeks and looked him in the eyes as he assured him. Dan melted into his hand, fragile.

Dan’s eyes widened at this. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he instead just closed it.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, searching Dan’s eyes for an answer.

“You can’t, Kevin.”

“Why not?” _Does he not want to be rescued?_

“This place—they’re meant to contain people like me, they have special tools, special weapons,” Dan looked anywhere but Kevin’s eyes.

“What are you talking about, Dan? What do you mean, _people like you?”_ Kevin asked.

Dan didn’t respond. He stayed silent.

“Hey, just look at me, it’s going to be alright.” Kevin didn’t trouble Dan with it again. He could tell that it bothered him. His eyes soon flickered up to meet Kevin’s.

“Kevin,” a tear trailed down Dan’s cheek, but Kevin quickly wiped it away, “Kevin, I’m so scared.” A few more tears spilled as Dan sniffled. He reached up, cupping Kevin’s hand where it was on his face. He looked away from Kevin again, embarrassed.

“No, don’t cry, Dan. It’s okay. Hey, look at me. Breathe. It’s okay.” Kevin whispered, voice soft and comforting. When Dan looked back at Kevin, he pulled him into a hug. Dan tried his best to be comfortable with his sling on, but with Kevin, he was always comfortable. They melted into each other, joining like two puzzle pieces. Two puzzle pieces that were meant to join together. To be together.

Moments later, Dan felt Kevin’s warmth melt away. He was alone once more. He quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve, all alone. He wanted Kevin. He needed him. Kevin was everything to him.

Kevin and Brian grabbed their suitcases from the back of Kevin’s car before walking towards the airport. It was still dark outside, but it was morning. Checking his wristwatch, Kevin took note of the time. _4:27 a.m._ Their flight was at 5 a.m. Only 33 minutes to go.

Entering the almost-vacant airport, the two looked for a seat. They had to go through the metal detector first. They were both clean from metal, except for their phones and Kevin’s watch that they put in the basket.

The two eventually found a seat near the entrance to their flight. At one point, Brian got hungry, so he bought something from a small food vendor. He brought back Kevin a bag of chips even though he had asked for nothing. Peckish, Kevin consumed the chips anyway.

Time flew by, and soon the two were on their flight, lifting off of the ground and into the air. “Well, there’s no turning back now,” Kevin muttered as he gazed out the window, watching the city lights fade away into nothing.

They flew over an ocean for a short period, then everything was white. Snow. It was a good sign that meant they were further north, getting closer to their destination.

Brian was asleep next to him, snoring softly. The sound was mostly drowned out in Kevin’s thoughts, so he paid no mind to it. It didn’t bother him. He thought about the plan, about Dan, about the world _fecking ending,_ and only he, Dan, Brian, and whoever else they needed could stop it. Feck.

Kevin thought about the file. Dan’s file. What did it mean by _‘may affiliate with ID. 67?’_ Was ‘ID. 67’ another part of their little save-the-world-group? Maybe Kevin could give it a try, maybe he could try to save the other.

When the plane landed, the announcer spoke through a speaker, “thank you for flying with us. You may now exit the plane.“

Kevin shook Brian, who was still asleep next to him. Brian woke up fairly quickly. Kevin told him, “It’s showtime.” Brian nodded, ready. They grabbed their luggage in the compartment above them before getting in line behind the other twenty people or so that were on the plane with them. Once off the plane, the two walked through the airport, squeezing through crowds. It was broad daylight out, late morning or early afternoon. Kevin and Brian decided to stop at a nearby food vendor.

The woman behind the counter spoke in a bored, tired voice once Brian and Kevin walked up to the counter, “Что я могу для тебя получить?”

Kevin and Brian exchanged glances, then looked back at the woman. “Do you speak English?” Brian asked.

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry. What can I get for you?” The woman smiled sheepishly.

“It’s okay. This is a Russian-speaking country after all,” Kevin chuckled, “just a sec, we’re looking at the menu.” Brian was already looking up at the menu attached to the wall above the woman’s head. Kevin looked up to see what he wanted. Thankfully, there were English translations under the Russian names of the foods. They would’ve been able to tell what it was anyway due to the pictures next to their names.

After they both ordered their food, they sat down at a nearby table and devoured it. Kevin got a hamburger, and Brian got fried chicken. People around gave them weird looks, Kevin wondered why. After observing the people around him, he found out why. Everyone was wearing heavy, thick clothes; everyone except for Brian and him—they wore t-shirts and jeans.

“Hey, Brian, we should seriously change into our coats and stuff,” Kevin said after they dumped their trays of food.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Brian chuckled, facepalming, “it must be like -9,000 degrees out there.”

The two headed to the nearest bathroom with their suitcases, changing into their coats, thick pants, and boots. Kevin put on his hats and gloves as well. They met back up outside the bathroom and left the airport together.

There was a long, black limousine outside, but they avoided it. They didn’t know where they were going. They planned to head further into town and find a car rental service, then figure it out from there. They’d drive out to the secret base and sneak inside, save Dan and I.D. 67, then sneak back out. That was it. Except that Kevin hadn’t mentioned I.D. 67 to Brian yet.

“Get in the limousine.” Kevin and Brian both heard this, but there was nowhere around them to say it. They both recognized the voice as the figure. Kevin and Brian exchanged glances before turning around to face the limo. A man with sunglasses got out of the limo and opened the door for them.

Kevin and Brian walked back to the limousine. Trusting the figure, they both stepped inside, albeit hesitantly. They sat down in the comfortable limousine and the man took their suitcases before closing the door on them. Kevin looked up to see a man that he recognized sitting across from them.

“You—” Kevin started, eyes widening.

“Yes, it is me.” The figure spoke, pulling down his black hood. Kevin and Brian’s jaws dropped, almost in unison.

It was a man, probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He had dark brown hair and had a short beard of that same color.

“So, you both got the right idea.” The figure spoke, switching his gaze between Kevin and Brian. The two were transfixed, faces paled.

“But—you were just a part of the Dreamscape… How are you _here?”_ Kevin mumbled.

“I never was, but I knew a lot. I can go into the Dreamscape, just like you two and Dan. We’ll speak more once we get to a safer location.” With that, the car took off. Kevin nodded and watched the snow-covered scenery move past through the slightly tinted window.

The drive was about 20 minutes long. Kevin didn’t complain much, but he could tell that Brian was bored. Both he and Kevin had many questions for the figure. They hoped they could get a name from the figure, so they wouldn’t have to call him _that_ anymore. However, they soon arrived upon a gigantic, modern-looking mansion. Brian and Kevin stared in awe as they pulled up to the front of it. Once parked, the door was opened for them and then they exited. The man gave Brian and Kevin their luggage back.

The limo drove away, and Brian and Kevin followed the figure into the mansion. Even the foyer was fancy, filled with many expensive items and furniture. “Is this your house?” Brian asked, observing the area in awe.

“It is,” the figure spoke before walking down the foyer, “now follow me.” _Straight to the point._

Eventually, they were in what appeared to be a living room. Couches surrounded a fireplace. A small but warm fire bounced inside the fireplace, bound to the wood. The figure sat down on a couch and poured a small glass of whiskey that was on a small table next to him. Kevin and Brian sat down on the couch across from the figure.

“Want one?” The figure asked, holding the whiskey bottle to where the two could see it. When Brian and Kevin both said ‘no,’ the figure shrugged and sat it back down on the table.

The figure took a sip of his whiskey, grimacing when it touched his tongue, before speaking, “you both must have many, many questions. First of all, you don’t have to call me _‘the figure,’_ my name is Sean. Call me that, if you will.” Kevin and Brian nodded.

“So, to start,” Sean cleared his throat before explaining, “the world is ending, and only we can save it. You both, me, Dan, and one other. You might know him by I.D. 67, Kevin. And you might be wondering, how? How are we going to save the world from its ultimate demise? Well, we all can go into the Dreamscape, correct? We are the only ones that _can_ do that. No one else can. We all, this might be hard to understand, we all have special abilities that go with that. You two must find out your own; I already know mine. I have electrokinesis. I can control, generate, or absorb electric fields and shoot lightning bolts. With this, I can speak to other people in their minds. I will help you both find your own.”

Kevin didn’t know about Brian, but this was a lot to take in for him.

“Us? Powers? Save the world?” Brian blanched.

“Yes, we will start on it tomorrow. We have a week to prepare before we infiltrate the lab. Follow me and I will show you both to your rooms. Make sure to be out at around 5, my cooks should have dinner ready by then. Wear the clothes I put in your dresser, will you?” Sean stood up.

Brian and Kevin followed Sean to their rooms, which were right across from each other in the corridor. The two retired to their separate rooms. Kevin’s was a nice, modern-looking room. There was a dresser, a TV on a stand, a desk, and a neat bed. There was also a door, Kevin presumed that it led to a bathroom. He then got to work unpacking his suitcase and putting the contents of it inside the dresser. There were already a few, nice-looking clothes in there, as Sean had told them. Once finished, he sighed and sat down on the bed.

Checking his wristwatch, Kevin sighed. _It’s only 3. What to do, what to do?_ Kevin tapped his foot, pursing his lips, and looked around. His eyes landed on the TV. He contemplated whether he should watch something or go to sleep.

Kevin threw off his boots and got comfortable almost instantly on the bed. He reached over and set an alarm for 4:55 on a clock that was on the bedside table. Drifting off into sleep, he wondered how Dan was doing.

Dan swiveled his head around, hearing the door open. It was Dr. Roberts. He smiled lightly once he saw her.

“Hello, Daniel, how are you doing?” Dr. Roberts asked, fiddling with the hem of her lab coat nervously. Dan picked up on her behavior, which provoked a sense of confusion in him.

“I’m doing fine,” Dan said, “how are you?”

“I’m doing good,” Dr. Roberts moved a strand of her hair out of her face.

“Good, good,” Dan muttered, nodding.

“So, do you want to, um, eat lunch with me? In my office?” Dr. Roberts asked with a shy smile.

Dan smiled. “Sure. Sounds great.” He stood up and followed Dr. Roberts out of the padded room and into the bright hallway. Dr. Roberts was the only one that was nice to him, all of the other scientists didn’t give a shit. They could care less; they had better things to do. Dr. Roberts paid attention to him and cared for him whenever he got hurt on that first day. There was no telling what her real intentions were if there were any. He hoped that she was just a nice lady, trying her best to be nice to a hopeless Dan.

“Thank you,” He said just loud enough for Dr. Roberts to hear.

“Hm?” Dr. Roberts met Dan’s eyes.

“Thank you, for being nice to me.” Dan smiled warmly. Dr. Roberts returned the smile, he could see a small blush creeping up her cheeks.

They soon arrived in the cafeteria and gathered their trays. Dr. Roberts’s office wasn’t that far from there. Once there, Dr. Roberts cleared off her table so they could both eat. Dan pulled up a chair to sit across from Dr. Roberts.

“So, how was your day?” Dan asked once Dr. Roberts finally sat down across from him.

“It was pretty boring. I had to test a lot of patients today, not all of them complied,” Dr. Roberts cracked open her Cola and took a small sip. Dan shrugged and took a bite of his pizza.

“Lemme guess, yours was more boring?” Dr. Roberts rolled her eyes playfully, a smile forming on her face.

“Mhm.” Dan chuckled, almost spitting out his food in doing so.

“So, how are your dreams? Have you seen anyone in them lately?” Dr. Roberts asked suddenly, causing Dan’s eyes to widen.

“Y-yeah, why do you ask?” Dan stuttered, not expecting this question.

“What did they say? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Dr. Roberts rested her head in her hands.

“Uh, t-they said—they said that…” Dan wanted to lie, but at the same didn’t want to. His mouth wouldn’t form the words.

“Did they say that they were going to get you out?” Dr. Roberts asked, knowing the answer.

Dan stared at her in confusion. “Yeah. Yeah… How did you…?”

Dr. Roberts sighed before regretfully informing him, “I’m sorry, but he isn’t going to get you out. Our patients here have that dream on their first night. The pill wasn’t just pain medicine, it had hallucinogenic materials in it. It’s a test to see how our patients react to it. I didn’t want to give it to you, but I was forced to. I’m forced to do many things here. I see so many people die, all because of me.” Tears began to leak out of Dr. Roberts’s eyes, racing down her cheeks.

Dan immediately abandoned his seat, rushing over to Dr. Roberts’s side. He quickly grabbed a napkin from her tray and knelt in front of her, wiping away her sad tears.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Shh.” Dan whispered, a sympathetic look on his face.

Just as Kevin did to him, well, _fake_ Kevin, Dan repeated, “Hey, look at me. It’s okay. Breathe.” He gently took Dr. Roberts’s hands away from her face, holding them gently after. Her eyes were red and puffy. She sniffled and reciprocated Dan’s soft, warm smile.

“It’s going to be alright, Dr. Roberts,” Dan searched the scientist’s eyes.

“Please… please call me Charlotte.” Dr. Roberts spoke in-between sniffles.

“Charlotte it is.” Dan chuckled, giving Charlotte’s hand a small squeeze.

Kevin’s snoring was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his blaring alarm clock. He shot up, looking around with weary eyes. The alarm clock started to beep again, so he slapped the ‘off’ button. He swung himself out of bed after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He looked down, realizing that he was still in his heavy, cold-weather clothes. No wonder why he was fecking on fire. Not that he minded much, anyway. He walked over to the dresser, pulling out a nice outfit before slipping it on.

Kevin looked in the mirror of the bathroom, checking out the clothes he wore. They were, unsurprisingly, fancy. The outfit was a black tuxedo with a red tie. With that, he also wore black tuxedo pants and black, leather shoes to match it. Once finished, Kevin left the room to see Brian leave his as well. Brian wore the same outfit as Kevin’s, except he had a blue tie instead.

He waved at Brian, “sup?”

“Heading to dinner, same as you. What’s up with these outfits?” Brian asked, grabbing the hem of his tuxedo and pulling it out, looking at it with a frown.

“Don’t say that to Sean. Anyway, I kinda like it.”

“Of course I’m not going to say anything to him about it, dumbass,” Brian chuckled, rolling his eyes jokingly, “that would be suicide.”

Kevin chuckled. In the foyer, they met Sean, who was straightening his green tie. He turned around when he noticed the two in the mirror.

“Ah, you two look great. Come with me.” Sean walked through an open door that led to a small hallway. He turned right, which led to a neat, fancy dining room. There were metal plates and eating utensils, as well as a lit candelabra in the center of the table.

“Sit. We have much to discuss. Once the food comes, _do not_ spill anything on those tuxedos.” Sean warned as he sat down on one of the cushioned chairs. Kevin and Brian found their seats.

Sean clapped his hands together before speaking, “so, where should I start?” He switched his eyes between Brian and Kevin with a smile.

“Right, okay. You don’t know. Has either of you felt something extraordinary? Especially towards an element or an object of some sort? Have you ever done something you normally wouldn’t be able to?” Sean asked.

Suddenly, Kevin remembered. The fire, how it had moved, how it had avoided him. “Fire.” Kevin simply said, watching the flickering candelabra flames.

“Good, what happened?” Sean asked, intrigued.

“It… _moved_. It avoided me, it moved out of the way for me.” Kevin stated. Sean ruminated about this for a minute.

“Hm. What about you, Brian?” Sean turned his head to look at Brian.

“Well, I can block stuff…” Brian announced.

“Explain.”

“On my way to Kevin’s house, I almost got hit with a sprinkler. When it should’ve hit me, it didn’t. It was like some sort of… force field came from my hands or something.”

Sean nodded. Moments later, the cooks entered the room with huge, metal plates. Each one had a different food item on it.

“What is this, Thanksgiving?” Brian chuckled breathily, mouth wide due to the vast amount of food. Sean ignored this remark.

After eating, Kevin went to bed with a full stomach. Brian looked as if he was going to puke from the amount of food he ate. “Man, that was a lot. We could’ve fed a small community with that food.” Brian spoke before disappearing into his room.

Kevin entered his, wondering how Dan was doing again. He decided to watch some TV to pass the time.

Dan hoped Charlotte was alright. It must’ve been a tiring burden, working in this huge facility. His only way of telling the time was whenever the lights dimmed in his room/cell. And, moments later, they dimmed. Dan curled up next to the wall, hoping to get some sleep for the night. Last night, he hadn’t gotten much at all.

Suddenly, just as he was comfortable, the door creaked opened. He looked over tiredly to see Charlotte. Dan quickly stood up and walked up to Charlotte, who closed the door behind her.

“Charlotte? What are you doing here?” Dan asked. As an answer, Charlotte jumped onto Dan, kissing him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as they both melted into the kiss. _Fuck it,_ Dan thought, _I’m never going to see Kevin again, anyway._

With that, the kiss went much and much further.


	10. You Cannot Trust a Liar

The next day, Kevin and Brian followed Sean to an elevator, wearing their suits once more. What was the need for the suits anyway? The elevator confused them because there was no upper floor in the mansion. Was there a basement? The elevator went down when Sean pressed the ‘down’ button. Guess so.

The basement was just another corridor. Sean led them down the hall and into a big room. Emphasis on big. “Welcome, this is where you will find out how to utilize your powers.” Sean smiled, proud of himself and his work.

Kevin observed the room. It was just a big, bright, empty room. There wasn’t much to look at. The floor and walls were all smooth concrete.

“But remember, we aren’t only training for the rescue of our comrades, we’re also training for the end of the world—to prevent it,” Sean reminded before pulling a metal lighter out of his pocket, “first, Kevin.”

Kevin walked up to Sean, who flicked open the lighter. A small flame flickered, emitting from the lighter.

“What do you want me to do?” Kevin asked.

“I’ll let you figure that out,” Sean said before suddenly shoving the flame in Kevin’s face. As expected, the flame bent backward, avoiding contact with him no matter what.

“Feck, that scared me,” Kevin breathed, “what is it doing?”

“It’s avoiding you. It doesn’t want to hurt you.” Sean explained simply.

“But… it’s fire.”

“Exactly. It is you that’s controlling it. This happened as a reflex. But there is more that you can do. You should be able to transform your body heat into external flames.”

“Brian, your turn. Stay where you are.” Sean turned to Brian. He stood there for a few moments to catch Brian off-guard before chucking the lighter at him. As he had expected as well, Brian reached up to flinch, creating a translucent, blue force field to stop the projectile from hitting him.

“Great job. You can only use your powers through reflexes currently, I will help you change that.” Sean stated. Brian was gazing at his hands in amazement, mouth agape.

“Any questions before we get started?” Sean asked, forming his lips into a line. “No? Okay.”

Suddenly, Kevin heard a machine whirring from behind. Both he and Brian turned to look. It was a weapons display, coming up from out of the ground.

“How is this happening?” Brian asked.

“You’re forgetting my power. Electricity. And I have control over it.” Sean tapped the side of his head as he finished his remark.

Sean stepped up to the weapons display once it was fully out of the ground. “Choose your weapon—pick two only. Make sure you grab a helmet as well,” Sean spoke before grabbing his. Kevin and Brian were too busy rushing up to the weapons display to notice what _type_ of gun it was. Once at the display, they saw them. NERF guns.

“Feck yeah!” Kevin exclaimed. He could sense Brian’s excitement next to him, as well. Who _wouldn’t_ be excited about NERF guns?

Behind them, Sean cocked his NERF assault rifle. Kevin scanned over the glorious, plastic weapons before picking out a sniper rifle and a shotgun. He grabbed a helmet and put it on, buckling it under his chin. He then glanced over at Brian, who had a pistol and SMG. Brian flashed Kevin a thumbs up. A compartment opened next to the display, revealing the foam ammunition they needed. The weapons display closed, now hidden underground.

“I’ve opened a few ammunition carts around the room. Use them to your advantage. Any questions before I tell you the rules?” Sean spoke, smiling at the two idiots in front of him.

“It’s just an empty room. How are we supposed to hide from each other?” Brian asked.

Sean chuckled before the floors and walls contorted, platforms and walls coming out of them.

“Woah,” Kevin observed the changing environment.

“So, these bullets and guns are special. They are electrically charged. If you get hit with a bullet, it will shock you enough to stun you for a bit, but won’t hurt much. That’s the motivation you will need, it’s also so no one will cheat. The electricity will surge through your body and into your weapons, temporarily disabling them for about 15 seconds. There are more weapons around the map for you to use. But remember, you can only keep two at a time.

I expect you to use your surroundings to your advantage, and mostly, your powers. A countdown will sound until the game starts. For now, go find your spots!” Sean explained the rules before running off, the main lights turning off. It wasn’t pitch-black, though. There were LEDs on the walls, floors, and platforms. It reminded Kevin of laser tag, but in this, you’ll get stunned and feel pain.

A text-to-speech woman on a speaker started a countdown. “Game starts in 30 seconds.”

“It’s NERF or nothing!” Kevin laughed.

The three dispersed. Kevin found his way around the dark yet colorful environment surprisingly easily. He climbed a small tower, a small platform residing on top. He hid inside the small, concrete room with openings on the sides for sniping. His weapons were already loaded with the electric, foam bullets.

Kevin pulled out his sniper rifle and cocked it, looking out through the opening in the wall.

“Game starts in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Begin!” The speaker announced.

Kevin chuckled, seeing Brian come around the corner. He peered through the scope, locking the barrel of the gun on his target. He squeezed the trigger. Taking his eye out of the scope, he saw that he’d missed. Brian noticed the bullet, then pointed his pistol up at Kevin. Luckily, he ducked Brian’s incoming shot. Quickly, he rushed out of the tower, crossing a bridge to a roof of another building.

It was surprisingly easy to maneuver around in the suit. It looked like it would be extremely uncomfortable to get around in it, but it wasn’t. It must be made of some sort of elastic material to make it more flexible.

Kevin sprinted, losing Brian. He jumped down off the roof once he checked that his surroundings were clear. Just as he turned around a wall, he was shot by a bullet.

“Feck!” Kevin dropped to the ground, muscles paralyzed and aching. Sean ran past him with a quick thumbs up. Kevin rolled his eyes playfully, knowing that it was Sean that had shot him in the first place.

Seconds later, Kevin’s muscles collaborated with his mind, allowing him to move them again. His gun was still unusable for the time being. Getting up, Kevin scanned the area before heading towards cover. He didn’t like being in the open like that.

Hearing a gun being shot at him to his left, not wanting to feel paralyzation once more, he reached his hands up to block on impulse, sending a flame out of his palms. The bullet was blocked. _I did it? I did it!_ Chuckling, Kevin grabbed his shotgun and pursued Brian, who was the one that had attempted to shoot him.

He pumped his shotgun before pulling the trigger—this time he didn’t miss. Brian fell to the ground with a curse, not liking the feeling of paralyzation. Kevin ran past him, laughing.

“You two did excellently,” Sean congratulated the two once the game was over, “you both used your surroundings to your advantage, and your powers as well. You may have more control over them now. That’s all for today.” They all had put their NERF guns back where they belong, the platforms and walls returning to their original place in the walls and underneath the floors. It was now only how it had been before: a big, empty room.

Brian and Kevin followed Sean back up into the main part of the house. “Ah, look. Lunch is ready.” Sean clapped his hands together with a smile.

“Oh, no,” Brian groaned, remembering dinner. Sean ignored the remark, continuing to the dining room.

Brian and Kevin exchanged glances before begrudgingly following Sean. The meal was already in the room when the two got there. It wasn’t as big as yesterday’s, thankfully. Kevin sat down in the seat he had sat in yesterday, Brian doing the same as well.

Today’s meal was small and simple, Kevin and Brian were glad; yesterday’s meal had been too much that they could barely make it to their rooms. He dished out a few things onto his plate when it was passed to him. He had a rotund bread roll, a fresh, green salad, and a dish of sugared fruits on the side. The cook had given him iced tea in his glass as well.

During lunch, Sean berated them for their mediocre table manners. _Elbows off the table! Napkin in your lap! Use this! Use that!_ Feck, what’s Sean trying to do? What’s the point of learning table manners when the world is fecking _ending?!_ To Sean, table manners are quite important. Important for regular use and, somehow, their training. Kevin wanted to blurt out, _“You’re not my mom!”_ but something deep down inside him held him back.

The two had trouble keeping their elbows off the table, but eventually, they both learned to stop themselves. Heh, when Dan sees Kevin, he’ll be so proud of him. Learning some manners, or just learning anything in general. Dan. He misses Dan.

“I miss Dan.” Kevin thought out loud, by accident.

Sean shot him a sympathetic look, he could barely see it out of the corner of his eye as he moved a small tomato around the plate. “Kevin, don’t worry,” Sean spoke in a soft, assuring voice, Kevin glanced up at him, “we’ll get him back. We just have to train. We can’t go in there unprepared, they have weapons to stop people like us.”

“That’s what Dan told me, in the Dreamscape,” Kevin stated, dropping his fork on his napkin that was next to his plate.

“You were able to visit him?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, why? Would I normally not be able to?”

“No, no, you wouldn’t. I haven’t been able to visit ID 67 at all, it was like something was blocking me from even going near the facility.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“Hm?” Sean looked up from his plate.

“ID 67? Do you know who he is?” Kevin asked again.

“No, I’ve only heard of him. That’s why I tried to visit him, so I could get information about him to help break him out.” Sean stated.

By the end of lunch, Brian and Kevin had excellent table manners, albeit they had a few mishaps and mistakes here and there. Sitting at the table, full, Kevin suggested, “We should go do something. I’m bored.”

Brian nodded. Sean considered this, “Hm. Well, we shouldn’t go out in public at all… _but_ I have an arcade.”

“What?!” Kevin and Brian exclaimed simultaneously, almost jumping out of their seats in excitement.

“Good morning, Charlotte,” Dan cleared his throat when Charlotte entered the room. She blushed and fiddled with the hem of her white lab coat bashfully.

“Good morning, Daniel,” Charlotte’s eyes were anywhere but Dan’s face, “would you like to get coffee with me in my office?”

“I’d like that.” Dan stood up, following Charlotte.

As they walked towards her office, Dan spoke, “Am I even allowed to be doing this?”

“No,” Charlotte admitted in a quiet voice, “it’s fine as long as my superiors don’t find out. I’m in charge of you for now so I doubt they would.”

“For now?” Dan asked as they entered Charlotte’s office.

“Yes, I’m afraid. But that won’t be for a few weeks from now.” Charlotte said, filling up two mugs with coffee that was on a table on the opposite wall of the desk. Once filled, she handed Dan a mug before sitting down in her chair across from him.

Neither Dan nor Charlotte were too nervous and shy to talk about what had happened last night. Dan didn’t want to admit it to Charlotte, but it felt wrong to him. It _all_ did. Speaking to her now felt wrong. Sleeping with her was crossing the line. He felt like he betrayed Kevin, even though they weren’t even a thing. He’s never going to see Kevin anyway, so why did he feel like this? Why did he feel so _horrible?_

“Dan? Dan, are you alright?” Charlotte spoke in a soft voice to get Dan’s attention.

“Hm?”

“You just spaced out for a second. Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m alright.” Dan covered up his lie with a chuckle. No, of course, he wasn’t fucking _okay_. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Fuck, if he did see Kevin again, how was he going to tell him? Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he could hide it. No, that wouldn’t work, he would be too walled up in his guilt that even _Kevin_ could pick up on it easily. At some point, he would find out. For now, Dan would hide it. At least until he had enough courage to tell Kevin if he ever does.

Dan and Charlotte finished their coffee in silence before he had to return to his room/cell.

She came to his cell later on and they ate lunch together, and then dinner. Dinner was mashed potatoes and roasted turkey, along with a side of green beans. Dan was sad because they weren’t real potatoes, it was just instant potatoes. However, he ate it anyway to please Charlotte.

“So, what did you do back at home?” Charlotte asked as they ate.

“Well, I hung out with my… friend, Kevin. We’re roommates. I usually played Minecraft with him for days on end.” Dan didn’t know how to phrase the words, especially around Charlotte.

“Tell me about him, you look like you miss him. Talking about close friends that you lost usually helps.” Charlotte ate a spoonful of green beans.

“Well, we were…” Dan shook his head, “never mind. Sorry, it’s—it’s hard to speak about him.”

Charlotte seemed to get the hint. “It’s okay. I’m sorry, but you might never see him again. I wish I could change that, but there’s no way I can get you out. They’d kill us both. He probably moved on as well, and I’m sorry to say that.”

Dan nodded, accepting her statement as fact.

He hoped that she wouldn’t come around at night. He didn’t want to see her; it felt so bad. Luckily, she didn’t come to Dan’s room/cell that night. He was happy about that. He just wanted to dwell on his guilt alone. He didn’t want to sleep with her again, it would just make the guilt worsen.

“So, Kevin moved on, huh,” Dan mumbled, curled up in a ball, “I wouldn’t blame him.”


	11. Break on Through

It’s finally time. It’s finally time to infiltrate the secret lab. After a week and a half of training, Brian and Kevin knew how to control their powers. They weren’t masters of them yet, but there was no time left. They had to start the mission now.

Kevin was currently in his room, slipping into his tuxedo. For some reason, Sean had wanted both him and Brian to wear them. He didn’t know why Sean was so obsessed with these fancy suits.

This time, there was something extra on his dresser. There was a note on top of it that read, _“Make sure you wear these as well, you don’t want to die or go to prison, do you? There are pockets in your tux to conceal the pistol.”_ Kevin chuckled before checking out what the bundle of items were.

There was a pistol, a _real_ one. Kevin was unsure if he should be trusted with it. Sean must’ve ruminated about this or was desperate to save the others. The magazine was missing, however. Along with it were two magazines, both fully loaded. He slid both the gun and the magazines into the concealed pockets. _Huh, that’s cool._

Underneath the pistol was a black beanie, black gloves, a bulletproof vest, a clip-on flashlight, and an army helmet. The helmet was a mix between a motorcycle helmet, a gas mask, and a bulletproof helmet. Kevin put on his beanie, gloves, bulletproof vest, and clipped the flashlight on it before leaving. He brought the helmet with him. There was no need to wear it right away.

In the foyer, Kevin met up with Brian and Sean. Sean wore his tuxedo, same as the other two.

“So, what’s up with the tuxedos, anyway?” Kevin asked finally.

“These are enhanced tuxedos—electrically charged, of course. They have the power to reduce the damage and pain of punches, or if you get hit with a blunt object. They can be bulletproof to only lesser guns in case if your vest fails. Also, they will keep you warm. Now, let’s go over the plan,” Sean spoke, “I am going to get us in—”

“We’re going to shut off the power, then split up to find Dan and ID 67.” Brian finished.

“Yes, and once the power is out, it will be completely dark. There’s a switch on your helmets that will toggle night vision. The technicians will immediately rush to fix the problem, so I will have to stall them. Do not kill anyone unless if it is necessary. Once we escape— _if_ we escape, we will have to stay undercover for a while. We will use that time to train to save the world.” Sean spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, but he knew it was.

“Ready?” Sean asked. Kevin and Brian nodded, ready. The trio left the mansion, heading towards a black jeep. It was pitch black out, snow falling hastily. The three got in the jeep: Sean in the passenger’s seat, Kevin and Brian in the backseats.

The drive was almost an hour long. Soon they were parked. The facility wasn’t in sight.

“Uh, Sean? Where’s the facility?” Brian asked.

“Underground,” Sean chuckled, “put on your helmets before we get out.” Brian and Kevin nodded before doing as Sean had told them.

“Why aren’t you wearing a helmet and vest?” Kevin asked, his voice slightly muffled from the helmet.

“That would make me a suspect. You see, I am a powerful man here in Russia. In a lot of places, actually. I am going to send you both off to inspect the place, as they will see it. I will distract them for long enough.” Sean said before getting out of the jeep, Kevin and Brian exiting as well.

There was only a small building with a card scanner. Sean pulled a card out of his pocket and swiped it through the scanner. An elevator door opened from the building and the trio stepped inside.

“So, what sector was it?” Sean asked as he scanned his eyes over the elevator buttons.

“I believe it was sector D.” Kevin pressed the button on the elevator that led down to that level. The doors closed, and they could feel themselves going down, far into the earth. Brian had the map of all of the sectors, that way they would be able to find their way to the electric circuits and cut them.

Once the elevator stopped and opened, a nervous man in a lab coat greeted them. “Ah, Mr. McLoughlin. What are you doing here?” Sean shook the man’s hand.

“Hello, Dr. Bailey. I’m just looking around. Do you mind?” Sean greeted.

“N-no, Mr. McLoughlin, not at all,” Dr. Bailey smiled, “want some coffee while they look? We can talk in my office.” Sean nodded, mostly to Kevin and Brian.

Once Sean and Dr. Bailey were out of sight, Brian pulled out the map of Sector D. He pointed to the elevator. “We’re here,” Brian stated, then dragged his finger up to the electrical room that wasn’t that far away, “okay, I know where to go. Follow me.” Brian shoved the map in his pocket before leading the way, Kevin trailing not far behind.

Kevin recognized the hallways from his dream. The intensely bright, uncomfortably cold hallways. They soon arrived in the electrical room. Closing the door behind them, Brian pulled out a paper. It showed instructions for a short circuit.

“Great. This won’t be hard at all.” Kevin said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

The paper had pictures on it, probably because Kevin wouldn’t be able to wrap his head around _written_ instructions. Pictures were much easier for him. There was a picture of a metal box, a red wire inside the box, a picture of someone cutting said red wire, then that person cheering in darkness.

“Okay, I guess it isn’t that hard, then,” Kevin sighed. The two searched for the box, finding it soon after. Brian opened the metal box, pulled out a pair of scissors, and cut the wire. After he did that, the power immediately shut down, leaving the two in complete darkness. Kevin pressed the button on the side of his helmet that Sean had told him about, and he could finally see again.

Brian flashed him a thumbs-up, and Kevin returned it as he said, “It’s go time.”

They left the electrical room after locking it and went their separate ways. Kevin had directions memorized in his head somehow. He’s never _really_ been here before, but it was like he worked here his whole life. He let his feet lead the way to the door that read 67.

Kevin turned the valve on the door. He understood the need for this high-security, he just wished that it wasn’t there—he wished that this facility didn’t even exist. He didn’t want to imagine all of the other people that must be in there as well, weak, dying, trapped. The captors in this facility were sick, twisted people. How could _anyone_ do this? Maybe Jim Pickens, but he was an exception.

The reinforced, metal door creaked as it opened. He saw Dan laying next to the wall, probably asleep. Until Dan spoke, “Charlotte?” _Charlotte? Who’s Charlotte?_ Kevin stepped into the room. Crouching beside Dan, he joked with a mock-gasp, “Charlotte? I hope you’re not cheating on me, Dan!”

Dan didn’t laugh.

“Hey, it was a joke, Dan.” Kevin chuckled. He couldn’t see Dan’s wide eyes. Slowly, he turned around and sat up.

“K-Kevin?” Dan whispered. He couldn’t see Kevin due to the vast amount of darkness.

“Yes?”

“No, no, this is just a hallucination. Leave me alone,” Dan whispered, hyperventilating. He covered his ears and shut his eyes tight.

“Dan, no, this is real. Look at me. We need to leave,” Kevin grabbed Dan’s hands gently and pulled him up off of the floor.

When Dan wouldn’t follow, Kevin grabbed Dan and carried him bridle-style. It reminded him of that time many months ago when Dan was in shock from his nightmare. Except that this time, Kevin didn’t know why he was in shock. He guessed that it must’ve been from the surprise. Also, what did he mean by hallucination? Have these people been feeding him something to keep him on his toes? Were they just trying to scare him so he wouldn’t escape? So he would be in shock?

Walking through the hallway, carrying a light-weight Dan, he met up with Brian. A man’s arm was draped across his shoulder. The man had dark-colored hair—he couldn’t tell if it was black or brown due to the night vision—and wore glasses. He wore the same hospital-looking gown that Dan did.

“We have to go. They’re on to us. I already had to knock someone out.” Brian spoke hurriedly. The four of them soon made it to the elevator, just in time for the lights to turn back on. Sean rushed around the corner and the five of them got into the elevator, going up to the snowy surface. Kevin turned off his night vision, seeing that there was no need for it anymore.

Kevin looked down at Dan, seeing his face in colors finally. Dan was staring off into space, absent. He had dark bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. His expression was blank, not knowing if this was reality or not.

After exiting the elevator, they all rushed to the jeep and hopped in. They drove away into the snowy night, passing a few police cars on their way out. They were just in time.

Dan shot up in a cold sweat. _Was it all just a dream?_ He thought. Observing his surroundings, he realized that it wasn’t. It really happened. He was laying on a couch. There was another couch opposite him with a man sleeping on it. He had dark brown hair, but that was all he could see because the man was facing away from him.

Dan grabbed the blanket that had been covering him before standing up. He wrapped the blanket around him, cold. The room had huge, glass windows as one wall that overlooked a dark blue ocean about 20 meters from the house. Dan strolled up to the glass, looking out. The sky was blanketed by a sheet of light gray clouds. The waves drifted up the sandy shore slowly and frivolously, littering detritus of all sorts along the sand.

Gazing out the window, Dan didn’t hear the footsteps behind him. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder, causing him to flinch. Once he saw who it was, he grew anxious. It was Kevin. _Shit._ Dan tried his best not to walk away, guilt welling in his stomach. Kevin said nothing, holding a cup of coffee in his off-hand. He started to rub circles into Dan’s back comfortingly.

“How are you feeling?” Kevin asked, gazing at the mesmerizing ocean waves with Dan.

“Fine,” Dan never took his eyes off the waves, even when Kevin looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, concerned. Dan shrugged.

“Are you worried about something?” Kevin suggested.

“Something like that.” Dan knew that Kevin was wanting to know _what_ he was worried about so he could help him, but it’s not like he could just tell him. How was he going to tell Kevin that he cheated on him? It wasn’t _really_ cheating; he and Kevin weren’t anything. Nevertheless, it still felt like it. _Oh, Kevin. I’m worried about how you’ll react when I tell you that I cheated on you with one of my captors._ No. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t going to flat-out say it like that as well.

“Where are we, anyway?” Dan asked.

“Apparently, a friend of ours is a billionaire. We’re in Iceland, in one of his many houses.” Kevin stated. _A friend of ours?_

Kevin continued to rub small, comforting circles on Dan’s back for a few more minutes before walking away. “I need to refill my coffee, I’ll be right back,” he said, raising his mug. Dan didn’t turn around to see it.

His eyes widened. He needed to get out of there. He couldn’t be around Kevin with the guilt this bad. It hurt. He didn’t want to see Kevin get hurt by his foolish actions. But he didn’t know what would hurt him more: Kevin hearing and hating the truth, or having to hide it for a long time? He’d have to bite the bullet at some point. Not now though.

Dan’s eyes flickered around the room post-haste, searching for an exit. There was a door that led outside, but he didn’t want to go through it. Hearing Kevin’s footsteps in what he assumed was the kitchen, he panicked and fled out the glass door before Kevin saw him. Once outside, he ran. He ran along the beach as fast and as far as he could. He came to be tired quickly due to the lack of sleep. Eventually, his legs couldn’t take it anymore and he fell onto the ground, tears spilling.

Dan clutched the ground, letting out a wailing sob. “Why?! I ruined everything! I’m so stupid!” He punched the ground, but it only hurt his fragile bones in the end. He hated his life. He hated it, and it was all his fault. He fucked everything up, now nothing’s the same. He wishes that everything was back to normal, but he knew that, in reality, it never would be. Nothing would be the same. He hated that.

“Fuck!” Dan screamed, tears halting temporarily. His sorrow had changed into anger and self-hate almost immediately. He was furious at himself for letting this even happen. He dropped from his hands and knees, curling up into a fragile ball.

A few minutes later, he knew that someone would come to find him, so he got back up and walked up the dune to his right to continue on inland. He didn’t want anyone to find him right now. He wanted to ball up and deal with his guilt. By crying, that is. That was the only way he knew how to deal with anything like this. It doesn’t change much, but it helps whenever he does it. The guilt does come back later, at some point. It always does.

Dan walked until he was in a forest, tall pine trees stretching up for what looked like eternity. Their branches and needles obstructed Dan’s view of the sky, blocking his view of the incoming dark clouds. Unaware, he continued further into the forest. Dead pine needles littered the ground, poking his bare feet when he stepped on them.

Suddenly, Dan heard a distant rumbling. He perked up, anxious. The storm was coming. The storm was coming to leave everything in a state of devastation. Dan started to walk hurriedly, frivolously, uncertain of where he was headed yet he persisted. He didn’t want to go back, for it was too much. He didn’t want to face Kevin again.

Rain began to fall heavily, leaking through the protruding pine needles above. Starting to jog, Dan’s breathing became raggedy and picked up its pace. He couldn’t tell if it was from his fear or if it was from running. Either way, his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Thunder boomed once more, sounding nearby. The roaring sound pierced Dan’s ears once more. He needed to stop.

Dan glanced between the path ahead and the way back. Breathing shakily, he decided against heading back and instead found a low branch to sit underneath, drenched in freezing water. He hugged his knees in an attempt to gain back some of the lost warmth. It was futile, but he still kept his legs there for comfort.

Dan was shaking due to the frigidness. He was losing body heat faster than he could produce it, which hinted at hypothermia. Thunder echoed every once in a while, and soon it was pitch black outside. Occasionally, droplets of water would slip through the branch and hit his head. He never noticed. His whole body was bitter and numb. All he could feel was the cold.

Because he was soaking wet, it made it all worse. He wasn’t able to warm up. He felt like he was being pricked by thousands of tiny, little needles all over. He thought about stripping off all of his clothes, but he couldn’t move his muscles. Eventually, everything went dark.

He couldn’t breathe. His eyes shot wide open, the sudden lack of air surprising him. He could only see dark blue. Looking up, he saw the waves moving high above him. He struggled against the depths and moved his arms and legs to ascend towards the life-sustaining gas he needed to stay alive.

Halfway there, his limbs grew weary in protest. He debated giving up for a split second. However, he persisted towards the surface. It seemed like no matter how much he swam, he never reached the surface. And he never was going to.

Fatigued, Dan just let go, giving up. He didn’t notice his lack of air as he blacked out. Death was imminent.

Suddenly, it stopped.

Dan opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. In front of him was the figure standing in the light, popping out against the blackness that surrounded them. The figure didn’t say anything. Instead, it just stared directly at Dan in an almost menacing glare.

“W-what—what do you want?” Dan shivered, drenched in frigid water.

The figure raised it’s head, looking down at Dan. “You’re dying.”

“No shit.”

The figure started to circle Dan, the light following it overhead. “You must fight it.”

“No,” Dan stated simply.

The figure was suddenly in front of Dan, face close to Dan’s as it glowered at him. “Yes. Do it for Kevin.”

Backing away, the figure started to circle Dan a second time. Noticing the surprised, nervous expression on Dan’s face, it chuckled.

“Kevin spoke about you, you know,” the figure was doing this on purpose, teasing him, making him feel worse, “in fact, you’re _all_ he ever speaks about.”

“H-how would you know? You rarely ever talk to us.” Dan retorted.

“How would _you_ know? I seem to talk to him more than you do,” the figure hissed, conning.

“I…” Dan fumbled to find the right words, “I guess… you’re right.”

“Hm.”

“I’ve heard about your little… deal with that scientist in the facility.” The figure stopped in front of Dan, facing away from him.

“What? I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dan was sweating. Either that or it was the water dripping from his hair.

“Sort it out,” the figure said, “I don’t want you guys fighting.”

“Why would it bother you? You’re only in our dreams.”

“I’m more than that. You’ll meet me soon enough. For now, wake up. Find your inner strength and you will get out of this mess.”

With that statement, Dan fell back asleep with one last thought. _What did it mean by my inner strength?_

Kevin paced around the kitchen, apprehensive, Sean stood nearby with a cup of coffee. Biting his fingernails, Kevin trembled. “This storm is only getting worse, we need to go find him.”

“No, Kevin. He will sort it out. Let’s leave him be for a while.” Sean took a sip from his coffee, not even phased by the situation.

“Feck you, Sean! I’m going to go find him. Feck you,” Kevin spat out and gave Sean the finger before disappearing around the corner. Sean winced when he heard the door slam.

“You’re not going to find anything, Kevin.”

Out of nowhere, Sean heard a strange, unknown sound that sounded like it came from the living room. Abandoning his coffee, he crept towards the source of the sound. When he turned the corner, he saw Dan, soaking wet and coughing. Once Dan noticed him, he muttered, “shit.” He just appeared in some random person’s house.

Instead of what Dan had expected, Sean only rushed to his side. “Great job, you did exactly as I told you.” Sean laughed when he saw Dan’s eyes widen. Dan’s face was pale and his lips were blue. He was soaking wet and cold.

“Y-You—” Dan pointed a weak finger at Sean.

“Yes,” Sean nodded, “now, we need to get these clothes off of you before you get worse. Should I get Kevin to do it or can you do it yourself?”

“No! I mean no, it’s- it’s okay.” Dan stammered.

“Why don’t I fetch Kevin so he can warm you up?” Sean asked. Dan took this the wrong way and he started to blush profusely. With the help of Sean, he stood up. Sean showed him to the bathroom where he could get changed.

“I’ll get you some clothes,” Sean said before walking away. _Where_ is _Kevin, anyway?_ Dan thought. Usually, Kevin would be hanging around joking or something. He wasn’t though. That was worrying.

Dan slipped out of his damp clothes and waited for Sean to return with new ones. A few moments later, there was a knock on his door. “I got you some clothes.”

Dan opened the door slightly, holding his hand out to grab the set of clothes Sean gave him. Once he closed the door, he put on the new clothes. He started to feel warm and the numbness went away. His head was still a damp mop, but he didn’t care enough to dry it. He exited the bathroom and traced his steps back to the living room.

He didn’t see Sean anywhere. Out of nowhere, a glass door opened, revealing a soaking wet Kevin. Before he could disappear back into the bathroom, Kevin spotted him. “Dan! I’m so glad you’re alright. I was so worried about you.” Kevin smiled warmly, confronting Dan with his arms spread out wide.

When Dan backed away, Kevin remembered. “Right. I’m wet, sorry.”

“Kevin! Go back outside and stand on the porch!” Sean shouted, entering the room with a fresh cup of coffee. Kevin rushed outside and stood on the covered porch, arms crossed as he pouted.

Sean sighed, “now there’s water everywhere. I’ll just have to get someone to clean that up in a bit.”

Dan stood, watching with wide eyes.

Sean turned his attention to Dan and simply asked, “are you trying to avoid him?” It sounded more like a statement than a question. Sean already knew the answer.

Dan nodded regretfully.

“It’s okay. I’ll help you. Come with me.” Sean walked into the kitchen, Dan following.

“What are we doing?” Dan asked once in the kitchen. Sean fixed him a cup of coffee and sat it in his hands.

“Do you love him?” Sean asked suddenly.

“Of course I do! It’s just… I don’t know what to do right now.”

“So, how long are you going to leave him out in the rain? Tell him, Dan. It’ll help you forget that it never happened.”

“I can’t.” And Dan came to terms with that. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Sean opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Dan, “how did you know?”

“When we broke you out of the facility, I spoke with one of the important scientists. He told me that some girl named Charlotte got fired because she had sexual affairs with one of the most important patients. I automatically assumed it was you, and I was correct.” Sean explained.

“Also, who’s the other guy? I saw him sleeping on the couch out there,” Dan asked.

“Oh, his name is Daithi. He’ll need to rest for a while, he’s been in the facility for way longer than you. He’ll have to start his training later to gain his strength back.” Sean answered.

“You also spoke about my _‘inner strength.’_ What does that mean? I mean, I figured out how to use it and fuck, that was crazy.” Dan added.

Sean explained everything to Dan. How all of them had special powers that they needed to use to save the world from its ultimate demise. Dan was confused and scared, but eventually, he got it all figured out. He still needed to find out what his power _truly_ was and how to harness it to his will.

“How _is_ the world going to end, anyway?” Dan asked.

“I’ve no clue. It does have something to do with the dream dimension though. That’s why we have to be prepared for anything. We have to train for anything and everything. All I know is that the world is ending soon. We must stay on alert.” Sean said.

Fuck, how are they going to pull this off?


	12. All Gone

After a prolonged amount of training, the five of them were ready. They all knew the full extent of their powers and how to utilize them for the better. It was all thanks to Sean, who helped them and guided them along their journey of self-exploration.

Kevin has the power of Pyrokinesis - he can create, control, manipulate, and generate fire, flame, and heat.

Dan has the power of Space-time manipulation - he can manipulate either space or the concept of time. Not only can he teleport, but he can also travel between dimensions and space whenever he wants.

Sean has the power of Electrokinesis - control, generate, or absorb electric fields and shoot lightning bolts. With this power, he can talk to people in his minds. Sadly, he cannot read them.

Brian has the power of Force-field generation - he can create protective shields of solid protons.

Daithi has the power of Shadow Camouflage - he can be unseen in shadows. He is also able to camouflage other people at will, as long as he’s touching them. He also can turn into a shadow with this power.

_It’s time._

The sky was dark. It was not night, however. In fact, it was mid-day. This is how the world was going to end. The dimensions would merge together, wreaking havoc everywhere. The sand part still confused Kevin. How did the world transform into a wasteland? Maybe everyone nukes each other? To get rid of whatever is killing them? Not even Sean knows. And Sean knows everything.

The five Irish lads stood out on the porch, staring out at the sky. It was light out, yet the sky was completely pitch black, starless. The wind blew rapidly and the waves somehow still lapped onto shore. The trees bent with the wind, twisting and turning. Thunder echoed from afar.

They were ready. Ready to fight, ready to protect. Ready to save the world. The downside was that they didn’t know how. For now, they’d have to wait.

“Sean, do you have a plan?” Brian asked.

Sean appeared more frightened than all of them. He was stunned, transfixed by something that the others couldn’t sense. Brian shook Sean’s shoulders. “Sean! Sean, what’s going on?”

Sean snapped out of it although he was still panic-stricken. “Sorry, I’m… feeling strange energies. We need to get out of here. Dan, I know you aren’t that great at teleporting multiple people but you have to try. We’re not safe here. Take us anywhere but here.”

Dan nodded, panic spreading from Sean to him. The five of them gathered in a circle, holding hands. He concentrated, but it was still hard for him. He started to sweat, his face scrunching up. Moments later, they teleported to the middle of a big city. The sky was bright blue here. Good, that meant that the danger wouldn’t get to them yet. Luckily, no one was paying attention, so they never noticed them appear out of the blue.

“I’m not feeling too good,” Dan mumbled before feeling over. Kevin’s reflexes kicked in at the right time, grabbing Dan before he hit the ground.

“We need to get him somewhere safe,” Sean spoke before ushering the others along the sidewalk, “he’s vulnerable in this position. Anything could get him. Luckily, I know someone here that can help us.” After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a bar.

“Sean, what a pleasant surprise!” The bartender greeted them. “What brings you here?”

“We need to borrow a room,” Sean spoke.

The bartender raised his eyebrow. “Oh?”

“No, not like that.” Sean facepalmed.

“Okay, okay. Go ahead,” the bartender chuckled before tossing Sean a key.

“Thanks, I owe you one.” Sean smiled before heading up the stairs to their right. Dan was still half-asleep, barely hanging on to his consciousness.

In the room, Kevin laid Dan down on the small bed. Dan finally let go of his consciousness, falling asleep with ease.

“We need to devise a plan,” Sean said quietly so he wouldn’t wake Dan.

“No shit.” Brian rolled his eyes. Sean shot him a glare and Brian backed away. He remembered what it was like to be even _hardly_ stunned by Sean’s power.

“We can’t do that without knowing what we’re going up against. And we don’t.” Kevin stated.

“Let’s wait for them to come to us,” Daithi suggested.

“Wow, I didn’t think of that,” Brian said sarcastically.

“Shut up, Brian. It’s a good idea.” Sean berated. Brian huffed and crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in.

The five of them stayed there until the darkness came back. Dan had regained all of his energy on the first day, the darkness returning two days after that. He had teleported all of them to the other side of the world, so it made sense for him to rest for that long. He’d woken up in the middle of the night. Kevin was sitting in a chair, asleep in an uncomfortable position. It seemed that he had been watching over Dan, keeping him safe during the night. Dan smiled as he watched the rise and fall of Kevin’s chest. He felt warm, not because of the blankets covering him. It was because of his love for Kevin.

On the third day, when the darkness returned, the five of them left the bar quickly, getting away from the big city. The big cities would be where the most destruction would take place. They didn’t want to be there for that. As they walked out of the city, they all noticed strange shadow people blending in the darkness, moving, contorting themselves and the shadows to their will.

They were all scared and nervous. They had no idea where they were going, they just had to leave. As they got out of the city, Kevin turned around and recognized where they were. It was the place he had seen in his dream. The place that was ablaze and covered in meters of sand. He ignored it and faced the path ahead.

Nothing was out of the ordinary, however, except for the black sky when it was the middle of the day. Kevin sighed, following the group a few feet behind. Dan had been acting weird these past few days and he couldn’t find out why. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Did Dan not love him? Once this was all over and they save the world, Kevin would proclaim his love for him. Maybe he’d even sing to him. In his head, it sounded perfect. Hopefully, it would turn out that way.

Kevin smiled to himself as he imagined the scenario. _I sing a song and play the guitar, Dan kisses me, then we get married._ He thought.

“What’re you smiling about?” Brian asked with a smirk.

“N-nothing,” Kevin chuckled, blushing from embarrassment because someone had caught him daydreaming. Brian shot him a look before siding Kevin.

“So, who is it?”

Kevin cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t,” Brian rolled his eyes before whispering, “It’s Dan, isn’t it?”

Kevin sighed, “yeah, it is. Everything was fine, but now he’s sending me mixed signals. I don’t know what to think anymore.” Dan was too lost in his own thoughts to pay notice to their conversation but Sean sure heard it. He angled his head so he could hear the conversation, knowing the reason why Dan was sending him mixed signals in the first place. He was perplexed himself, not knowing what to do. Sean bit his lip before focusing his eyes on the road ahead. The streets were completely deserted, beyond desolation—that is, apart from them.

Sean would let Dan figure it out himself, for it undisputedly just wasn’t his business.

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out in the end, Kevin.” Brian gave Kevin a thumbs up before moving further up into the group.

They all walked for hours. Soon the city was out of sight. They’d have to come up with something, they realized that they couldn’t just wait for the problem to come to them. People would die. Also, by the time the problem came to them, there could be nothing left to save. The problem could be too much for them to handle. They could die from it, leaving the world in crisis and peril when it needed them the most. There might not be a “them” anymore by the time the problem comes. Many things could go wrong.

None of them knew what time it really was, but it sure looked night. Whatever time it was, they needed rest. Any sort of shelter would be fine. However, there were no shelters around them to stay in. They needed shelter from storms and the enemy so they could devise their plans in secrecy.

Along the way, they found an abandoned, worse-for-wear house. Sean ushered the group up to it. This would do for now.

The house was built of old, but not-yet rotting planks. The planks had a discolored, pale brown tint to them and a few holes and cracks here and there. The roof was made of rusty tin, protruding out over a compact porch. There were some old, shabby monobloc chairs on the left of the porch.

No one complained as they entered the worn barn. It was decent-looking inside, which was a surprise because the state of the outside was weather-beaten. Hopefully, it could take a few more storms at least.

Sean examined the one-room shed. Looking up for a light, he luckily saw one. No electricity wasn’t a problem because of his power. Suddenly, on account of Sean, the light flickered on. He stored enough electricity in it that it would last a few hours at the least.

The five of them had nothing. They’d left in such a hurry. Plus, Dan most likely wouldn’t have been able to handle any more objects when he teleported them across the world. Dan immediately sat down against the wall, lost in his thoughts. Kevin glanced at him, noticing his sorrow from the corner of his eye, but wasn’t sure if he should comfort him or not. Because of Dan’s demeanor towards Kevin, he wasn’t sure how he would react to it. He would either act aloof and distant or would pretend that everything was okay. It _wasn’t_ okay.

Kevin just wanted to know what was wrong, so he could help Dan get better. Maybe Dan was just worried about the apocalypse. “You all should get some rest,” Sean spoke. Kevin nodded before sitting down against the wall, the one opposite of Dan. Brian and Daithi also sat down, Brian falling asleep almost instantly. Kevin watched Dan out of the corner of his eye. Even though he wasn’t looking in Kevin’s direction, he didn’t want Dan to catch him staring. Eventually, he fell asleep.

Sean stayed up the whole night, thinking of ideas. He came to three conclusions.

They had to go to the source of the evil in all of them, they were the only devisable plans he could think of. He would effortlessly be able to trace the location of the source with his power. He had no idea what to expect of the source. His best guess would be some sort of dimensional rift.

Plan one: go into the rift and fight whatever was on the other side that was wreaking havoc. This one was the most unreliable plan, so he scratched it off his mental list.

Plan two: kill all of the shadow people that came out of the rift. This was impossible. These shadow people could infinitely generate from the shadows.

So, their only choice would be to close the rift—the third plan. Sean had no idea how they would accomplish this task. He’d have to ask for everyone’s input when they wake up.

For now, he’d try to find the source first. He can sense great amounts of energy. But how would they get there if it was far away? Airports were out of the question—most of them must be shut down during this tragedy. He could pay someone to fly them around, but then he’d have to owe them because he had no money on him at the moment. However, it would take a long time. They didn’t have the time to fly all over the fucking world. Sean sighed, thinking of other options.

They should’ve just stayed in Iceland where they could’ve figured everything out better that way. They’d have a home to stay in, food, water, warmth. Now they were stuck in a filthy shed with nothing. Nothing to go by. They’d panicked—no, _he’d_ panicked. _He_ got them all into this mess. It was _his_ fault. To fix this, he’d need to think outside the box.

Maybe _they_ were the source of the power. They all have powers when no one else in the universe does, so maybe it has something to do with them. Something they all have in common.

Well, they had powers, could go in the Dreamscape, they were the only ones that had the power to prevent the end of the world—though it was already here, the end was nigh. That’s all he could think of. But he just wasn’t thinking hard enough.

The answer stuck out like a clown at a funeral; it was right there, right under his nose. He just couldn’t see it. And he hated himself for that. He ran his fingers through his hair in concentration and clenched it when his mind went blank. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t think of something this time. Everyone relied on him, they relied on him for answers and guidance and protection, but now he didn’t know how to give it to them. He felt like he was letting them down. Sean stroked his beard, deep in thought.

The next morning, Kevin awoke to Sean sitting in the middle of the room, eyes screwed shut. He couldn’t tell if he was asleep or if he was just deep in thought, so he didn’t bother with him. Leaving Sean to his own devices, Kevin examined the room. He could hear the light sound of rain pattering on the tin roof. Dan was missing, and Daithi and Brian were fast asleep. Wait—Dan was missing? Kevin shot up, looking around to make sure he hadn’t missed him. Nope, he was most definitely gone.

Tiptoeing past Sean, careful not to wake him, Kevin made it to the door, surprisingly still hinged to the wall. He quietly exited, seeing Dan sitting under the overhang on one of the old chairs. Dan glanced his way before promptly turning his gaze back to the damp, foggy atmosphere. Kevin pulled up one of the monobloc chairs and slumped down next to Dan, breathing out in relaxation once his bottom hit the chair.

The sky was somehow darker with the clouds covering it. As if the sky wasn’t dark enough already. The light splashes of the rain hitting the muddy ground were soothing. The air was fresh out here, far from any city—Kevin hoped that later on he and Dan could move out to the country so they could feel this every day. This sense of freedom, no weight on their shoulders, just the two of them. The gentle, icy water droplets raced to meet the ground around them. Occasionally, gentle thunder would be heard. Kevin could sense Dan tense up each time it transpired.

Kevin shot Dan a worry-filled glance before gently placing his hand on top of Dan’s. Hesitantly, Dan curled his fingers in-between Kevin’s, regaining a sense of serenity. He was safe now.

“I can’t wait until this is all over,” Kevin sighs, “then we could finally call it a day.”

Dan said nothing to this. _I wish it would stay like this, then I wouldn’t have to tell you._ He wishes he could just declare it as water under the bridge, but he just _couldn’t._ It nagged at him and taunted him. He just wanted it all to stop.

“Dan?” Kevin said, snapping Dan out of his thoughts.

“Hm?”

“Are you… are you okay? You’ve been off for the past few weeks. You can tell me, I’m here for you, Dan.” Kevin’s face softened, worry apparent.

“I’m just…” _Tell him. Just do it, just say it. You need to tell him or he’s gonna hate you more._ “I’m just… worried about… the world ending and shit.”

For a second, Dan thought that Kevin didn’t believe him, but when his hand received a light squeeze, he quietly let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Dan put up a light smile to mirror Kevin’s. _Fuck. Why can’t I do it?_ He slithered his hand out of Kevin’s, who seemed taken aback by this, and put it in his own lap.

Kevin rambled on about learning the extent of his powers, and how Sean had trained him with it. Dan went into a trance, spaced out once more, guilt gnawing at him. He couldn’t hear Kevin’s voice as it engulfed in the pattering of the rain.

He wondered if Sean knew what they were doing—how they were going to stop this mysterious force. Or if they were bound to stop it at all. He would be fine with that; if the world ended, his misery and suffering would end with it. He wouldn’t have to endure this agonizing pain in his heart anymore. That wouldn’t be fair to Kevin though; he’d kick the bucket, not knowing the real truth. Dying with a lie wouldn’t be the best way to go.

Dan began to bring up their memories, all flashing through his mind. When they both first met in that big, burning forest. Their times playing Minecraft together. When he’d saved Kevin from certain death, saving him from the Dreamscape. They didn’t have to deal with saving the world, they didn’t have to deal with his ongoing issue. They were both safe and sound. Safe and sound at home. He misses home. He hasn’t seen it in… he doesn’t know how long. However, it must’ve been at least spring now, due to the immense amounts of rain they’ve been getting. That means it’s been _months_ since he’d last seen home.

Just now realizing that he was cold, Dan teleported inside where it was warmer.

“Bullshit! I’m not giving it up, that’s fucking it!” Brian screamed at Sean who looked intent on getting out whatever point he had. Daithi seemed angry as well, his arms crossed while glaring daggers at Sean.

“We have to do this! There’s no other option!” Sean pleaded, but his face contorted to that of worry before speaking once more.

“Oh… hey, Dan,” Sean spoke nervously through gritted teeth, trying to play it off like they _hadn’t_ been quarreling this whole time. Brian and Daithi snapped their heads around to see Dan.

Dan wanted to leave, but he didn’t want to go back out there and hang out with the source of his guilt. Suddenly, the door opened. Dan already knew that it was Kevin before he’d even seen him. Panicked, Dan teleported to the back of the old, raggedy house. He glanced at the house before walking off into the rustling field. The tall grass was wet, but the rain had stopped, preventing more rainwater from getting on him.

 _What were they arguing about?_ Dan wondered, keeping up his pace. He remembered what had happened last time he ran off, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now. He needed to think. _Without_ interruptions.

He spoke too soon. “Dan! Wait up!” Dan heard Kevin call from behind him. Dan didn’t stop. He rolled his eyes once he felt Kevin siding him.

“Phew! That was hard work, running,” Kevin chuckled. Once Dan shot him a glare, he said, “what?”

Dan scowled before snapping, “Kevin, when do you ever leave me alone? You’re always right there next to me, always nagging me! I just wanna be left alone sometimes, you know!” Dan immediately regretted the words once they got out. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!_

The two stopped walking. Kevin, taken aback, looked like a kicked puppy. The image burned into Dan’s mind, and he looked away. “Oh, so that’s how it is? What is it with you? You’ve been acting like this for _weeks_ now! Ignoring me, tossing me away when I just want to fecking _help_ you! And all you do is just treat me like shit! Do you not…” Kevin scowled, brows furrowing and his jaws clenching. He shook off that last sentence. Well, when it rains, it pours.

“Kevin, I—” Dan started, distressed, but Kevin was already storming back in the direction of the house, fuming.

“I’m done, _”_ Kevin said, voice shaky but anger still present. Kevin covered his mouth. He had just yelled at Dan. He fecking _yelled_ at him. He couldn’t believe he just did that. However, everything he just said, he felt. Tears threatened to spill. Eventually, he couldn’t hold it. Tears. Instead of going back to the house, however, Kevin continued on down the road.

The further he got, the worse he felt. He didn’t know why this was happening, but he dealt with it. Soon enough, he was drowning in guilt and remorse. He was so plunged in it that he started to hear whispers. _“Go back. Go back. Go back.”_ He was drowning in the guilt so dreadfully, hearing the voices made it worse. He really was going insane, wasn’t he?

Kevin tried to block out the voices by clutching his ears, but his efforts were futile. _“Go back. He doesn’t deserve this. Go back. Go back.”_ Kevin’s face softened and his hands unclenched, about to give up his resentful endeavors.

 _Yes,_ Kevin thought, brows furrowing again, _he does deserve this._

 _“No, no he doesn’t. Go back.”_ The voices whispered, demanding, pleading.

Kevin sighed, not wanting to endure this anymore. When he got back, he would make up with Dan and everything would be good. They’d be back to the same—actually, not the same. Kevin hopes that apologizing for whatever he’d done to hurt Dan would bring them back to the old days. Maybe the old days are long gone, it’s now the end of the world after all. Nothing would be the same. Maybe after the end of the world, _then_ everything would go back to normal. Just Dan and Kevin. No powers, no Dreamscape trying to kill him and rip their world apart, no _hate._

Feck, maybe hate was inevitable. There can’t be life without it, after all. Without hate, there would be no love. They’re two sides of the same coin. When hate comes along, love emerges and brightens everyone’s day. Thinking about this on the way to the shack made Kevin smile delightfully.

Coming into the sight of the shack made Kevin’s stomach turn. He fought the immense urge to frantically sprint in the direction he’d come from. However, he persevered, striding up to the house.

It’d begun to get darker, not the sky since that was already at its limits. The landscape around him grew a red hue, indicating that it was dusk already. Alas, he couldn’t see the sunset. The darkness that obscured the sky like a sizable hefty cloud let almost no light from the sun through, but the terrain showed differently. The environment was bright during the day and dark in the inky, eerily-still night.

Kevin slowed his pace, worried about what would await him back at home. He didn’t want to see the distressed demeanor Dan may present. Night-time came around, the terrain finally matching its above. The crickets chirped silently, giving Kevin a sense of tranquil serenity. Sighing, he neared the house. He halted just before the stairs, gazing at the door where Dan might be. Hopefully, Dan wasn’t left out in the darkness. If he was, Kevin would stop at nothing to find him and bring him back safely. Even after their mishap, and Kevin’s anger, he still loved Dan no matter what.

Kevin silently tiptoed up the stairs and slowly opened the door. “Dan?” He whispered. Opening the door all the way, he saw no Dan. Sean, Daithi, and Brian were missing as well, but he cared about Dan much more than them.

His eyes widened. It must’ve been hours now. Rushing back outside, Kevin panicked. He ran in the direction Dan had disappeared off into, not looking back.


	13. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

_Shit, shit, shit! Where the feck is Dan?_ Kevin hadn’t slowed down—except once when he needed to catch his breath. He’d been searching and searching, calling and calling, but there was no sign of Dan. His only choice now was to head back. He would head back to the shack and wait for Dan to come back. Hopefully safely. Continuing in the dark was imprudent but Dan could teleport, Kevin only had his fire.

Speaking of which, he lit a small flame in his hand to help guide him on his way back to the temporary house. He examined it in awe, the flickering flames mesmerizing. Not watching where he was going, he tripped over a log. “Feck!” Kevin exclaimed through gritted teeth once his foot hit the log, knowing he would trip and fall. The flame shriveled up into nothing and Kevin hit the ground with a bruising thud. He didn’t just hit the normal, grassy ground as he had expected, he landed in a puddle of sloppy mud.

Kevin scowled as he got up, attempting to wipe off the mud that now drenched his favorite sweater. _Dammit. Well, that’s not coming off soon._ Kevin finished the rest of the walk in only a few minutes, the house already in sight. He trudged up the stairs, face droopy and his muscles weary. He dragged his feet and swung open the door. No Dan here either.

Leaving the door open, he slid down the wall, absent. Everything was going wrong at once. Dan’s missing, he’s covered in mud, and he’s tired. He wants to sleep, but the other half of his brain tells him not to. He needs to wait for Dan. And wait for Dan he did.

Half asleep, Kevin didn’t know what time it was, or how long it had been. He looked over to his left, out the open door, seeing the landscape grow a light, yellow-and-orange hue. Kevin stared outside, wishing that he wasn’t so alone. Wishing Dan was with him, by his side. His favorite sweater was coated in dry, crispy mud as well. He didn’t leave though. He waited. Dan knew his way back to their temporary house. He hoped.

He waited, and waited, and waited. He got up at one point and sat outside on one of the monobloc chairs, staring at the relentless dark sky. He wished that everything was back to normal. He could care less about his powers, as long as he was with Daniel.

Kevin decided to let his eyes shut that late afternoon, letting weariness take over him. Sleeping would pass the time by. Hopefully, Dan would be back later, or tomorrow. Late is better than never. Kevin contemplated going back to search for Dan, but something stopped him. Something told him that everything would be fine. Everything would be okay.

It’s all okay. Dan’s fine _._ He has to be. _He can fecking teleport,_ Kevin reminded himself before drifting off to sleep.

Plunging into darkness, Kevin woke up. There were no lights, no figure, or _Sean_ as he should say. “Hello?” Kevin called out, voice receding out into the blackness, no echo or anything returning to him. Who would speak to him this time? Sean was nowhere to be seen, nor Daithi or Brian. Not even Dan.

Kevin attempted to use his fire to light his surroundings, but it failed to cooperate with him. He felt helpless in this dark, open void.

Kevin took a step forwards, cringing once he saw what he had stepped in. The ground was made of a black, viscous liquid. It acted like water but was too thick to be water. His shoes took on a red tint as he sank into the ground like some sort of liquid quicksand. Kevin laboriously pulled his feet out of the red substance and began to run.

However, the further he got, the more he sank into the mysterious fluid. He soon found himself waist-deep, unable to move. Going into a panic, Kevin looked around frantically for anything that could help him. There was only darkness. Kevin took one last, pleading breath before slipping under the surface, the red, viscous liquid covering every inch of his body.

Forcing its way in through Kevin’s nostrils, the liquid bloated his lungs, his stomach, every single organ of his body. However, the liquid felt like it belonged there for some odd reason. He let go, knowing that struggling would be futile. He coughed, trying to get rid of the strange liquid from his lungs. Doing that ended in more of the liquid coming in. He felt like he was going to burst, as he sank further and further down, the pressure unbearable.

He felt himself slowly slipping away, losing his grip on the bars called life. He would fall from those bars, arm muscles weak and tired. His lungs felt like overfilled water balloons, bound to pop at any moment. However, consciousness left him first.

He found himself in complete darkness when he woke up again, choking. It seemed like the darkness had grown long, slender arms, grasping Kevin’s neck in an attempt to asphyxiate him. It was working. He scrambled to find out a way to save himself, to stop the choking, the darkness.

Kevin’s eyes brightened in hope as he brought his hand up to light a small flame. He used all of his might that he had left—most of it had poured out like the shadow was sucking the life out of him. It was, in some dreadful and grisly sense. The warmth scared away the cold, and Kevin could see the darkness recede into nothingness, a high-pitched scream being let out as it died.

Kevin let out a shaky breath, suddenly realizing that he’d been holding it. He hugged his knees, hyperventilating loudly and shakily.

“Fuck.” Kevin breathed, eyes wide. His hyperventilating slowed, leaving him with small, short breaths.

“Fuck,” Kevin repeated, frightened for his life. He almost died. Any normal person surely would’ve perished, but he didn’t. It was all thanks to his fire. Without it, he would’ve died. He _should’ve_ died. He didn’t ask for these damn powers, and neither did anyone else. He wanted to be normal, then he’d be back with Dan. None of this ever would’ve prevailed. He and Dan would be playing Minecraft back at home.

Scared, Kevin held his hand close to him, lighting a small flame in its grasp. The flame flickered. It seemed to float, hovering inches above his open palm. He began to contort it, shaping it into different objects. At one point, it somewhat resembled a heart. He felt like crying. He let his hold of the flame go, and it slowly died out, seeping back into his hand with ease.

Kevin was too scared to fall asleep again. It was dark out, but he was too on edge to drift away once more, scared of the shadows. He was safe as long as he was awake. His fire would protect him. In his sleep, he was defenseless. He was defenseless against the shadows.

The next morning, Dan was still gone and the blackness still covered the sky, drowning out the sun. However, its attempts of illumination prevailed, seeping through the darkness to light up the world. It was the sliver of hope that everyone held onto.

Kevin sighed, gazing at the warm contrast of colors projecting onto the terrain through his tired eyes. He wouldn’t doubt that he had dark circles under his eyes. He didn’t have a mirror to look into, so he couldn’t know for sure. He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes and rubbed the sleep away the best he could.

He thought about Dan. Dan seems to be all he ever thinks about, isn’t it? Maybe someday Dan would come back to him. Kevin didn’t even want to think about the fact that Dan actually could have abandoned him, leaving him here in this old, lonely shack.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin saw movement. He snapped his head up to look at the figure that had interested him. Dan. Kevin could barely keep himself from jumping out of the chair and running up to him, but shock stopped him. He watched as Dan made his way up to the shack, his brows furrowed and the edges of his mouth stretching downward. He looked depressed. How could Kevin blame him? All Dan wanted was a bit of space, and Kevin responded by snapping at him.

Dan didn’t seem to notice Kevin watching him with a worried countenance as he continued towards the house. When Dan looked up as he trudged up the porch steps, he noticed Kevin. Dan panicked, debating whether he should run away or not. It was hardly a fight or flight situation, but he decided to flee.

Before Dan could run off, Kevin gave Dan a warm expression and said, “Dan, wait.” Kevin stood up, arm reaching out towards Dan as to say _“don’t go.”_

“Dan, I… please… don’t leave me again,” Kevin pleaded before cautiously stepping closer to Dan.

“I… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I never meant to yell at you.” Kevin mumbled, hoping that Dan could at least hear him.

“Kevin, no. I’m the one that should apologize. I yelled at you first when I shouldn’t have. It was wrong of me. You were only trying… trying to help.” Dan’s eyes watered as he responded in a whisper.

Instead of saying anything, Kevin pulled Dan into a warm, assuring hug. Dan buried his face into Kevin’s dirty shirt, not caring at the least. A small, happy—with a tint of sadness—tear leaked from Dan’s eye, running down his cheek, then past his smile. He was safe again. He held onto Kevin, scared of losing him again, albeit it was his fault in the first place. _He_ was the one that ran. _He_ was the one that initiated the whole argument in the first place.

Kevin dare not bring up the whole thing that had happened in Dan’s absence. Scared, drowning, _dying_. Kevin breathed out the tension that had been building up for who knows how long. Scared himself, he held Dan close to him. Dan was all he had. And, as Kevin didn’t know, he was all Dan had.

Kevin wanted them both to stay like this, but he just had to pull away at the thought of the world ending once more. Dan appeared a bit sad when he did that, but it changed when he saw the worry on Kevin’s face.

“Kevin, what’s wrong?” Dan asked worriedly. He still held onto Kevin, not wanting to let go of the warmth.

“I… we need to find the others.” Kevin avoided looking at Dan—not because he didn’t want to look at him, he just didn’t want anything to sneak up on them as they were in this vulnerable position. His heart started to gain speed, beating faster and faster. He hoped that Dan couldn’t hear it, or at least notice Kevin’s anxious demeanor.

“Kevin… did something happen while I was… gone?” Dan asked, starting to shift the blame onto himself, if there was anything for him to blame at all.

“N-no, I’m… I’m fine. Just worried… about the world fecking ending and shit.” Kevin’s stammering was apparent, Dan was gaining on him. However, Dan didn’t respond in the way that Kevin’d thought.

“I… I am too.” Dan replied. He wanted to say _“Are you not telling me something?”_ but that would just be ironic, _wouldn’t it?_

At the thought of that, Dan backed away, crossing his arms to act as a protective barrier. “How are we gonna find them?” Dan asked, meeting Kevin’s eyes reluctantly.

“We could…” Kevin held his chin in an almost beard-stroking manner, “… we could use your power? Maybe go back in time and see where they went?”

Dan’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting this. He never time traveled before; Sean had always said that it was far too dangerous to even attempt it. Whatever, what the hell. “I-I guess I could… give it a try.” He was, but wouldn’t admit it, scared. However, he’d do it for Kevin’s sake. So they could save the world from eternal doom.

Suddenly, Dan disappeared. “Um… okay.” Kevin had expected _both_ of them to do it because it would be easier, but oh well. Well, maybe not so easy for Dan. They could get trapped back in time by accident, anything like that could happen. They could get split up again. Messing with time, as Sean had told them, was perilous.

Dan was suddenly in the field behind the house. It was a late afternoon like it had been when he and Kevin were sitting outside. He rushed up to the house, looking for any holes in the walls. Luckily, there were many. He found one in just two seconds and peeked through it, seeing Sean wake up from his sitting trance like he had been that very morning.

“I got it!” Sean exclaimed. Brian and Daithi stopped what they were doing to look at Sean. They were playing a game of… cards? Where the hell did they get those? They most likely snagged them from the bar when no one was looking.

“You got what?” Daithi asked, setting his deck of cards in front of him, making sure to flip them over so Brian wouldn’t peek at them.

“I know how to stop the world from ending.” Sean ran his hands through his hair frivolously, sleep-deprived. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale and clammy. He seemed like he was either on drugs or he drank _way_ too much coffee. He was just insane.

“And how do we do that?” Brian asked, not caring that much. He could tell from Sean’s demeanor, and so could Dan, that he was bat-shit crazy. Something wasn’t right with Sean. Had he stayed up _all_ day and night?

“We have to give up our powers. I thought this through; it’s the only way. We have to do it. We need to save the world,” Sean explained.

 _What the fuck? Give up our powers? How would that work?_ Dan’s eyes widened.

“No, Sean. Sit down, you need to take a break.” Brian stood up, Daithi doing it as well soon after.

“Brian. This is the only way! We have to find the source, then we need to give up our powers. Yes, that’s it.” Sean rambled frantically.

“Sean! Chill the fuck out! We’re not giving our powers up!” Brian raised his voice and Sean flinched.

“Brian, Brian, Brian. You don’t see _why_ we have to do this. It’s for the greater good.” Sean tried his best to get Brian to cooperate with him.

“Bullshit! I’m not giving it up, that’s fucking it!” Brian screamed at Sean who looked intent on getting out whatever point he had. Daithi seemed angry as well, his arms crossed while glaring daggers at Sean.

Suddenly, Dan—the other one—teleported into his line of sight.

“We have to do this! There’s no other option!” Sean pleaded, but his face contorted to that of worry before speaking once more.

“Oh… hey, Dan,” Sean spoke nervously, trying to play it off like they _hadn’t_ been quarreling this whole time. Brian and Daithi snapped their heads around to see Dan.

Dan immediately tried to hide, knowing his next move. And, as expected, his other self teleported out into the field. He immediately flattened against the wall, halting his breathing temporarily, just to see Kevin run past him. _Shit. Hopefully, no one sees me._ Dan thought.

Seconds later, he decided that the coast was clear, so he peeked back into the hole to see Sean, Daithi, and Brian leaving the house. He poked his head around the corner of the house to see Brian and Daithi head to the right of the road and Sean head to the left.

Not wanting to spend long in the past, Dan immediately teleported back to the present. As Kevin saw it, it was only seconds after Dan disappeared. “What the feck?” Kevin exclaimed, jumping back with his hands in front of him.

“I know where they went,” Dan stated plainly.

“Where?”

“They both went separate ways. We’ll… have to split up.”

“Oh,” Dan didn’t notice the worry in Kevin’s tone, “we _have_ to?”

Dan sighed. He didn’t want to split up with Kevin again; they’d already spent a prolonged amount of time apart. He just wanted to stay with Kevin.

“I mean, I guess we could stick together,” Dan flashed Kevin a soft smile.

Returning the smile, Kevin stepped forwards and pulled Dan into a warm hug. Everything was going to be fine now that they were together. Just the two of them against the world. Kevin could finally sleep, he wouldn’t have extremely vivid nightmares that leaked into reality. Everything would be alright.

They just needed to find the others, so they could put an end to this whole situation.


	14. All It Takes Is a Little Push

The duo headed to the left first. Brian and Daithi were angry and Dan didn’t want to mess with them right now. Going after Sean first seemed like a better option. Even though he was currently not right in the mind, he might be easier to negotiate with at the moment. If he wasn’t dead already, that is. Dan doubts that that would be the case. They might not know _what_ they are dealing with, but it surely can’t be that bad.

Dan had told Kevin before they left how Sean said they were supposed to save the world from its ultimate doom. He told him how they would have to give up their powers. Kevin nodded to that, he would do anything to save the world and to be back at home with Dan.

Kevin was mostly quiet, his hands in his pockets and dragging his feet. Something was on his mind, but Dan didn’t want to bother—he’d just end up giving Dan an “I’m okay,” or “I’m fine.” A low-hanging fog encompassed them. It gave the two of them an eerie, anxious feeling that someone or something was watching them. They could see barely five feet in front of them. Fog is always a machine for disaster.

Dan grew anxious, waiting for something to happen. Whatever _was_ going to happen wouldn’t be good, and he was waiting for it. He hated having to wait, even though it would possibly be disastrous. He just wanted to get whatever the fuck it was over with.

It was eerily quiet. Kevin didn’t seem to notice; he was lost in his world of thoughts. Dan glanced at Kevin, who was watching his walking feet. His lips were twisted into a minor frown. Dan wished he could read thoughts—he wanted to know what Kevin was thinking and feeling if it was this bad. Kevin was never like this, he was always jovial and had a joke on the tip of his tongue. Always.

He worried about Kevin’s distance. He felt Kevin slowly receding. Did he… find out? Shit. Dan’s eyes widened and he directed them to the unclear road ahead. What if he did find out? Did Sean say something?

But wouldn’t Kevin say something to him then? He surely would have something to say. Wouldn’t he? Surely he would’ve, right? Dan started to doubt everything. He bit his lip, deep in thought.

Eventually, Dan decided to say something. “Kevin… is something wrong?”

Kevin snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to look at Dan. “N-no… why?” Kevin appeared nervous, this worried Dan.

“Kevin, you can tell me. It’s okay.” Dan tried his best to conceal his quavering voice, scared of what Kevin might know.

Kevin gulped before looking away from Dan. Anywhere but Dan. “I-I just… I _saw_ something. I was scared. I almost… I almost _died_.”

Dan’s eyes widened, voice full of concern. “W-what happened?”

“I know what we’re dealing with. It’s… shadows. They almost drowned me.” Kevin spoke quietly as if the shadows might hear him if he spoke too loudly. He’d do anything for the shadows to never come back ever again. The feeling of drowning… it was unbearable. The feeling of not being able to take in the life-sustaining gas called air, especially against one’s own will, it’s a feeling that one would never forget. And every time that one is facing that situation once more, it’s a very dreadful feeling. Struggling for air, for one’s very own life, it’s… horrible to even think about.

Kevin wished that he didn’t have to go through that. But he now had more motivation to save the world from this monstrous catastrophe. For he’d witnessed what they are actually up against. It isn’t good. People will die. Kevin doesn’t want anyone to go through what he went through. It was a horrendous experience. He was lucky that he got out alive, most people wouldn’t be as lucky.

Kevin finally met Dan’s eyes. Dan looked concerned but didn’t say anything for a while. For a while, he couldn’t tell what Dan was doing.

“Kevin… why didn’t you tell me? I can help you. I’ll always be here for you,” Dan stopped, and Kevin reciprocated, standing in front of him.

“I… was scared.” Kevin looked down at the ground, embarrassed by his emotions. Dan hesitantly stepped forward and then wrapped his arms around Kevin, who returned it only moments after. Kevin breathed in a shaky breath, inducing Dan to hold onto him tighter.

“It’ll be okay, Kevin,” Dan said quietly, soothing Kevin. He seemed to calm down after that. When they pulled apart, Kevin smiled lightly, a small tear streaming down his cheek. Dan held his face, chuckling softly before wiping the cheek off of Kevin’s face with his thumb. Kevin leaned forward and Dan felt himself gravitating towards Kevin as well.

Their lips slightly touched. However, they both wanted more. Their lips connected once more, like two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together. This was what they were both missing. They wanted each other, to be with each other. They strived for it.

He didn’t want to pull apart, but the guilt nagging at Dan forced him to stop. He buried his head in Kevin’s chest to hide his guilty countenance. Forcing himself off of the source of his warmth, Dan cleared his throat.

“We… should get going.” Dan murmured.

“Yeah,” Kevin pressed his lips into a thin line, “I guess we should.” He took notice of Dan’s guilty demeanor. What the hell was going on with him? Why was he always acting like this? Was he scared of… falling in love with Kevin?

Anyway, Kevin pressed on, trailing after Dan into the misty fog.

Soon enough, Kevin, Dan, and Sean were all back at the shack. They’d found Sean laying on the ground, whispering random words. Sean’s pupils were as small as could be and he was shaking. In the shack, Sean clutched his hair tightly and his skin was pale and clammy. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“Sean, what’s going on with you?” Kevin asked, crouching in front of Sean.

“We need to save the world,” Sean muttered shakily, “we need to save the world.”

“Sean,” Kevin waved a hand in front of Sean’s face, “Sean? Are you there?”

“Save the world… Save the world… Save the world…” Sean breathed, unresponsive.

Kevin sighed, declaring his efforts futile. He turned his head to look at Dan, who was watching from afar, his hands resting in his pockets. Sean continued to mutter “save the world,” and Dan shrugged.

“Can you try?” Kevin asked.

“I’ll try… but I doubt it’s going to do anything.” Dan slid his hands out of his pockets and crouched next to Kevin. He raised his hand—

“What are you—” Kevin started but was interrupted by the sound of a smack, “—doing.”

The slap to Sean’s face surely woke him up. Sean let out a short scream before scrambling back as far as he could. “What—what’s… going on?” Sean asked, panting.

“We need to find Daithi and Brian,” Dan stated, crossing his arms.

“What?” Sean breathed. He was bewildered by this all. It seemed like he wasn’t himself this whole time. He’d been distant and emotionless, not himself in the slightest bit.

“They ran off, just like you. We need to find them to save the world as you said.” Dan spoke, standing up to look down at a very frightened Sean. It was weird seeing Sean like this; he was always the bigger person in all situations, but now Dan was. It gave him a weird feeling of superiority. He didn’t like it. It was weird having power over people—sure, it felt good to some people, but to him, it felt… wrong at times.

Kevin extended his arm out to Sean, who hesitantly accepted it. He pulled Sean to his feet, who was wobbly. “I’m so… thirsty,” Sean mumbled.

“We all are, Sean. We should find some water somewhere. As well as some food.” Kevin stated.

“Can’t we just leave him here, Kevin?” Dan asked, “he can’t walk straight. There’s something wrong with him.”

“No.” Kevin responded almost immediately, “we’re not leaving anyone alone.” Dan nodded to that, not wanting to argue. Even though he doesn’t know _exactly_ what had happened to Kevin, he still cared about it. He cared deeply about Kevin’s feelings and thoughts and… well, everything about him. There was no doubt about it.

Kevin helped Sean walk. Outside, the fog was still resting in the air, shifting, contorting in the still air. The fog was menacing, compelling as if to say “walk into me.” Dan shuddered at the thought that something might actually lurk in the obscuring fog. Fuck that. He contemplated his options: run the fuck away, or stay with Sean and Kevin. He chose to stay. He didn’t want to leave them alone, and he didn’t want to be alone himself. They needed a sensible person with them.

The three trekked through the gray, eerie fog, Sean’s arm around Kevin’s shoulders for support. Kevin didn’t want to leave Sean back at the house. His reason was obvious: he didn’t want anyone else to go through what he did. It was a regretful experience. Not that he had a choice in the matter in the first place. He wouldn’t wish this upon any of his friends.

After what seemed like many, tiring hours of searching, they soon found Brian and Daithi sitting on the side of the road, a small campfire in-between them. Brian stood up and glared daggers at the trio once he noticed them standing there. They didn’t react—they were too tired and worn out to even change their facial expressions. Out of all of them, Sean seemed the worst. Whatever he’d been through took a heavy toll on him. Dan would have to ask him about it whenever he gets the chance.

“What are you doing?” Brian growled, furious.

“We’re here to… help…” Sean mumbled, releasing himself from Kevin and attempting to walk towards Brian cautiously. Sean tripped over air and stumbled forwards. Brian’s reflexes kicked in and he conjured a force field to stop Sean’s fall. So he wasn’t a heartless bastard after all.

“Brian, please listen to us,” Kevin started, noticing Brian’s countenance soften, “I’ve seen what we’re up against and it… it’s horrible… It almost killed me, and I never want to experience it again. Do you really want to live like this? Drowned out in darkness and fog for the rest of your life? If _you_ don’t, well, the rest of us want to live a normal life again. And we’re sure that the rest of the world wants to as well— _if they’re not dead already_. We’re the only ones that can stop this. Would you rather keep your powers instead of using them to make everything go back to normal? So, please, Brian. _Please_ , help us. I’m begging you.” Kevin’s eyes watered as he made this valiant statement. He spoke straight from his heart, he was surprised that he was able to propose something so cogent.

 _Please, please, please, please…_ Kevin thought, hoping that his declaration would be enough.

Brian scowled, looking at the ground before letting it go with a sigh. He closed his eyes, thinking, before meeting Kevin’s pleading eyes. “I’ll help you,” Brian spoke, voice quiet, “I guess… I don’t want this life. I’m being selfish.”

“Thank you.” Kevin smiled softly, a small tear escaping his eye. He wiped it away before turning around to look at Dan, whose lips were slightly upturned.

“Something’s wrong with Sean,” Daithi suddenly spoke. Everyone snapped out of their trance and looked at Sean, who was unconscious.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, he, Brian, and Dan rushing to Sean’s side. Brian gently let the forcefield dissipate and Sean softly plopped on the ground. He was sickly and pale, sweat covering his face like a sheet.

“I-I don’t know,” Daithi spoke, baffled by Sean’s condition.

“We should get him back,” Dan suggested.

“No, it’s not safe there, we should stay here,” Kevin retaliated, knowing what waited for them at the shack.

“If you say so,” Brian said.

Kevin automatically knew that something had gotten him. One of the shadows, perhaps. Their enemy. He’s glad that he didn’t leave Sean back at the shack. They were hours away and wouldn’t be able to get back in time if something happened to him.

“Put him next to the fire, he must be cold,” Daithi added.

They nodded and scooted Sean closer to the slowly-dying fire. Because of this, Kevin used his power to build the fire up. _Much better._ Kevin thought, feeling accomplished once the fire crackled and burned.

Hours passed, and Sean was still unconscious. He didn’t stir in his sleep, nor speak, he stayed still. Kevin was convinced that he was dead multiple times, so Daithi had to check Sean’s pulse and reassure him each time. The only upside was that Sean looked like a normal human being again, the color returning to his face and his sweat disintegrating in the heat.

At one point, they had to move Sean away from the heat since he started to turn red. Once he cooled down, they moved him a bit closer so he wouldn’t be too cold. Soon enough, it was dark out. The only illumination they had was the orange and yellow hues of the fire that cast upon the surrounding area.

The four of them sat around the fire, telling jokes and laughing.

“So,” Brian spoke suddenly, “what are you two gonna do after we save the world n’ shit?”

Kevin’s eyes widened since Brian said “you two” instead of asking them separately. He didn’t fret that Brian knew about Dan and him… whatever they were.

“Well, um…” Kevin started, scratching the back of his neck, “I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I know I’m going to continue my YouTube channel.”

“Nice, nice,” Brian nodded, “and you, Dan?”

Dan shrugged, aloof. Kevin wondered what that was about, but didn’t want to say anything about it in front of Brian and Daithi. He’d have to ask Dan about it later.

“Okay then, Mr. Grumpy Pants,” Brian frowned. Dan shot him a glare and Brian left him alone with a roll of his eyes.

Minutes later, the four announced the worst jokes ever—minus Dan, he still stared off into space. Kevin thought that maybe something one of them said had gotten him on edge, but he didn’t dig too deep into it. They all said stupid things this whole time, so there was no telling.

They all pulled jokes from out of the back of their minds. Jokes like, _“A man got hit in the head with a can of Coke… Thank goodness it was a soft drink”_ and _“The shovel was a ground-breaking invention”._ They were shitty and stupid, so much that it was riotous to their dull-witted minds.

It’s funny. Why were the most idiotic people in the world chosen to have these powers and to save the world? There was nothing special about these few. Maybe it was their friendship? It was incomprehensible to anyone. There was no explanation of how this was even _possible_ in the first place _._

After another hour of jokes and laughter, they all decided to go to sleep. They all slept on the cold, hard ground, but it wasn’t like they had any choice. They had nowhere else to go. Kevin yearned for his bed, to sleep in it once more. He yearned for Dan and their home. He just wanted everything to go back to normal. That’s why he’s so glad that Brian decided to help them. After all, they couldn’t do this without him and Daithi.

Once Kevin got comfortable next to the glowing embers of the fire, he flickered his gaze up to look at Dan, who lay facing away from Kevin only a few feet away. Kevin wanted so badly to reach out and touch him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but something held him back. He bit his lip, contemplating what to do. He wanted to do _something_. He wanted Dan to know that he was there for him, that he’d catch him if he were to fall, that he had his back, but he just… couldn’t. Sighing quietly, Kevin faced the darkness, away from Dan.

The coldness enveloped his face as he stared off into the dark, starless night. A frown formed on his face. He wondered what led Dan to this, why Dan had been acting like this for weeks on end. It was a mystery to him.

The next morning, Kevin woke up to see Dan already awake. Brian and Daithi were still asleep on the ground. Dan sat next to the fire, poking it with a small stick. The fire was ongoing, unlike how it was when Kevin had gone to sleep last night.

Kevin leaned back on his arms, looking around. He then pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and rubbed the sleep away. “Morning,” Kevin mumbled. Dan replied with a small hum.

Sitting up all the way with a worried expression on his face, Kevin softly spoke, “Dan… are you okay?” He scooted closer to Dan, who surprisingly didn’t scoot away. His gaze was fixed on the fire and his expression was blank.

Dan shrugged.

Kevin shifted his glance to the fire, matching Dan. For a while, he didn’t say anything. “You know, you can talk to me about anything, Dan.” His voice was barely above a whisper. He glanced at Dan.

“Dan!” Kevin gasped, discerning that Dan was crying. He almost instantly wrapped his arms around Dan.

Dan sniffled, keeping his gaze fixed on the fire for a few more seconds before returning the embrace. He buried his head in Kevin’s chest, not saying a word. Kevin didn’t need him to, although it would be better if he knows what’s been troubling Dan. He pressed a light kiss into Dan’s soft, brown hair consolingly.

“Whatever you need,” Kevin whispered to Dan, “I’m here for you.”

Dan nodded with a sniffle. What he had on his mind he most definitely _wouldn’t_ be telling Kevin. At least not for a while. It was bound to ruin what they had, and Dan didn’t want that to happen—who would? It was hard to think about Kevin getting furious with him because of it. It was hard for Dan to see him like that. It was all his fault. He fucked it all up.

The two stayed like that for a while. Kevin could stay like that forever, but Dan soon broke away, a sorrowful look in his eyes. Kevin didn’t bother pushing Dan any further, and Dan was glad that he didn’t.

One day he’d let it all out.

Everyone else was still asleep. Brian was snoring lightly, but it didn’t bother the two that much. Kevin looked at Dan through the corner of his eyes, concerned about him. It was just an endless loop of sadness, worry, and regret. Mostly regret on Dan’s side of things, but Kevin still felt guilty about not being able to help Dan. He wished that he could make Dan’s problems all go away. He’d do anything in his power just to see Dan smile again. So far, his efforts were futile, and he loathed that.

He wished that there was something more that he could do—something that would fix everything. Something that would fix whatever had happened to the two of them.


	15. When the Morning Light Shines In

The four of them, parched, were forced to sit out in the cold rain to quench their thirst. It was cold, but luckily the rain didn’t last long. With effort, Kevin managed to drain the water out of the sodden logs before igniting them in an enveloping flame. They’d caught some of the water in one of Brian’s force fields to save for later, for when they were dehydrated again.

Kevin steadily heated up their clothes, with laborious effort and concentration, compelling them to dry. Sean still slept peacefully, albeit he was closer to waking up than before. He no longer looked like a ghost—he was no longer dreadfully pale.

For that day, the four of them watched over Sean as he slept, undisturbed. They didn’t have anything to eat, so they began to grow hangry, snapping at the smallest things. This needed to be sorted out. Without energy, the five of them wouldn’t be able to transfer their powers to whatever they needed to transfer them to.

Sean had seemed so intent on knowing what they were undertaking except he hadn’t allocated a sufficient amount of knowledge with them to know _what_ it was. Their only choice was to wait for Sean to wake from his doze so they could embark on their expedition once more. Their stomachs growled in protest, coercing them to at least _think_ about cannibalism. The few didn’t accept the idea, except for Kevin. He ruminated about it for a while, telling himself that maybe it wouldn’t be that bad of an idea.

Just about two days later—the group hadn’t been keeping great track of the days, Sean finally woke up, panting as his eyes darted everywhere to find out where he was and what was going on.

“Sean! You’re awake!” Dan breathed, a broad smile tugging at his lips.

Sean glanced at Dan before massaging his aching head. “Fuck. How long was I asleep?” Sean grumbled, eyes squinted.

“Well, it’s been…” Dan had to count his fingers for this, “it’s been over a week.”

“Bloody hell!” Sean exclaimed, suddenly jumping up. He woke up Brian, Daithi, and Kevin who were originally asleep.

“Why are you yelling?” Brian groaned, glaring at Sean through drowsy eyes.

Sean clutched his hair, insanity creeping back to him. “Fuck, we need to go. Now!” Sean whisper-yelled. At this point in time, Sean wished that _he_ was the one with the teleportation powers. It would really help.

“Where?” Kevin rubbed his eyes, standing up with the others.

“I-I…” Sean scrambled to find the right words, “there’s just a location implanted in my mind.”

“Well, enlighten us.” Brian rolled his eyes, his mouth pressed into a firm line.

“I don’t know where it is.” Sean plainly stated.

Brian scoffed, flipping his arms up in annoyance.

“I have an idea,” Dan spoke up, pensive for a short while, “Sean, you can give me the exact coordinates with your power. It’ll be like forwarding a text.” The idea would sound completely quixotic to anyone except for them. Only those five could understand.

“Okay… I can try.” Sean tightly closed his eyes subsequently, focusing.

Only seconds later, Dan felt a jolt of electricity flow through his blood, through his bones. It was chilling, but worth it in the end. He had the coordinates. To let Sean know that it had worked, Dan gave him a small nod, lips slightly curving into a smile.

The five grouped together in a circle, clasping each others’ hands. As Dan’s power started to work, wind whipped through the center. Dan’s eyes squeezed shut in concentration, trying his best to get them where they needed to go. Shadows swirled around them, intent on consuming the group’s powers. They struggled against the bonds of the shadows that blocked out all illumination around them.

Kevin, having already dealt with this before, lit a small fire in the center of their circle that scared away the shadows for the time being. He wanted to shout, to encourage Dan, to help him, but he couldn’t speak. He was exceedingly tired. They were all tired. Dan’s power seemed to use up a bit of each one of theirs.

Sweating profusely, Dan finally teleported the five of them to a secluded location. The cacophony of screaming and whirling got the attention of the group. The five of them, exhausted, turned their weary gaze to the source of the booming noise. They were in a huge, burnt field where a gigantic shadow storm twisted and turned hundreds of feet away. Charcoal logs littered the ground, remnants of the past.

Kevin suddenly recognized the area although it was only charcoal and ash. It was the forest. The first forest—the one that he and Dan awoke in so long ago. His eyes widened, and his gaze immediately scanned over the others to search for Dan. Brian, Daithi, and Sean were still staring, transfixed at the monster of a storm.

Dan was on the ground, unconscious. Kevin bolted to Dan’s side, kneeling down next to him and checking his pulse. _Thank goodness, he’s alive._ Kevin relaxed his shoulders, happy to see that his love was still well and breathing.

He needed Dan to wake up. They needed him right now. They needed to do this now. The storm was slowly drifting away and they still needed to even catch up. Time is being wasted.

The others suddenly snapped out of their trance, rushing to Dan’s side the same as Kevin. “Again?” Daithi sighed, frowning.

“This took a lot out of him. Is there any way to wake him up?” Kevin pleaded.

Sean shook his head, “sadly, no. Someone will have to carry him.”

Kevin immediately picked Dan up after that, but Brian stopped him. “I can use my force field, it won’t take much, won’t drain needed energy as quickly.”

Kevin acquiesced simply because it was the better option, though he wished to carry Dan in his arms, to keep him warm and secure. It would be a laborious effort and would waste a lot of time and energy as well. But he didn’t care. Nevertheless, he did not argue.

The four started to walk towards the storm, all wearied from the teleport. Dan was carried on a force field by Brian, not far behind him. The shadow storm slowly moved, maybe a few inches an hour. Whatever it passed, it left in a crisis, in devastation. It was sad to see the world like this. Kevin hoped that Sean knew how to fix this.

It was like a tornado: small at the bottom—possible a few feet in diameter, but gradually got bigger and wider, stretching up to the sky as far as possible. Kevin still wondered how this shadow storm was even feasible, for it was mystifying.

The four of them walked and walked, getting closer and closer to the storm. It would still take about an hour to actually get to it, and they had no clue what they were going to do once they did. Maybe Brian could stop it with his force fields or Sean could shoot electricity into it to keep it still? Maybe Kevin could make a ring of fire encompassing the tornado, keeping it trapped in that one, confined spot?

Trekking through this field, although it was perfectly flat, was exhausting. Mostly for Brian, for he is holding Dan up with his force field. It didn’t take much effort, but after a while, it surely added up. Kevin sided Brian.

“Yeah?” Brian asked, glancing at Kevin.

“I can carry him, it’s a lot of work for you.” Kevin insisted.

Brian glanced back and forth between Kevin and unconscious Dan before sighing. “Okay. Go ahead.”

Kevin jogged up to Dan and picked him up bridal style. Brian nodded in thanks—holding Dan on his force field must’ve been wearing. He was glad to help. Plus, he wanted to be with Dan if something attacks them. That way, he would be able to keep Dan safe and warm. His reactions might be too late if Dan lay on the force field, far away from him.

Maybe after they save the world, he and Dan could grab a bite somewhere. They could go to that café that they both love so much. Kevin was starving; he hadn’t eaten in a while. It would also be nice to get out after all of this. First, however, he’ll need to take a day-long nap before anything.

The storm was wild. It whipped around, twisting and contorting with the strong wind. The five stand only meters away from it, but it didn’t suck them up. It didn’t suck anything up, for that matter. Standing closer, the group saw its power. They could see each shadow creature rummaging through the storm, creating and building it up, supplying fuse to the sky to keep it dark.

They needed to act fast; they could see the storm getting bigger. And from here, they could see how gigantic the storm _really_ was. It was massive, definitely not big enough for the group to wrap around and do whatever they had to do to stop it. They could trap the storm and confine it in a small space, or just keep it within a certain area. It moves slowly anyway, so maybe they _wouldn’t_ have to slow it down.

So, the five of them stood around the slowly-moving storm, not moving. They glared at it, loathing it in every way. This was the storm that is destroying their world slowly, the Earth, and their lives. Each individual’s world is being ruined, lives left in a crisis.

Standing, staring at the colossal shadow storm in front of them, the five of them concentrated on something they didn’t know how to do. How were they to do this? They sure had to try. It was hard work, but they could tell it was working. Something was working. They could each feel _something_ happening inside their bodies, something escaping them. The feeling was transcendent and ephemeral, lasting only for a few moments before a loud reverberation echoed and the group fainted simultaneously. None of them got to see the after-effects. Was the vortex gone? Did the world return to normal?

After what felt like hours, Kevin woke up in his bed in a cold sweat. _What the feck?_ He thought in dismay. The room had a different feel to it. It felt like home, yes, but it felt too out of place to be unshakable. He just hadn’t been home in a long time. He wasn’t used to this. After all, it’s been months since he last felt his soft blankets and fluffy pillow.

They did it. _They saved the world._

Kevin sat on the edge of his bed, watching the warm morning brilliance shine in through the open cracks in his blinds. The sight was breathtaking to him. For the longest time, he was too apprehensive to be able to just sit down and enjoy the morning. He could feel a small tear slide down his cheek. _Feck, am I getting sad over this?_ Kevin thought, wiping the blissful tear with his sweater sleeve.

Pensive, his stomach growling interrupted him. He didn’t feel tired at all as he slid out of bed. He yearned to prepare something in the kitchen for both him and Dan.

When he entered the foyer and turned the corner, he saw that Dan was already cooking breakfast. Instead of asking what Dan was making, Kevin ran up behind Dan, picked him up, and swung him around in a zealous hug.

“Kevin, I’m cooking breakfast!” Dan giggled.

“We did it!” Kevin beamed, eyes wide and smile broad. He gently sat Dan down in front of him, but still rested his hands on Dan’s sides.

“I know.” Dan grinned sheepishly.

The two of them got lost in the maze of each other’s eyes, both sparkling and filled with desire. Closing the gap between them, they kissed vehemently. It wasn’t rigorous, but it was enough for both of them. It was ephemeral, but all they needed was each other.

Breaking apart, they smiled at each other—Dan smiled shyly and Kevin smiled charmingly, as always. He loves Kevin’s stunning smile. His pearly-white teeth shone in the morning brilliance, to the point where they were almost as bright as the sun itself.

Kevin helped Dan with breakfast. He helped sprinkle the seasonings on the eggs. Paprika, salt, and pepper: the perfect combination of spices to put on fried eggs.

At the table, Kevin examined his vast breakfast. There were fried eggs, toast with butter, bacon, and sausage. Famished, he dug in. Within minutes, he was full and his plate was vacant. Dan was still eating when Kevin placed his filthy plate in the sink to wash later. He walked up to Dan and placed a small, affectionate kiss on Dan’s brown hair.

He entered the living room, plopped down on the couch, and turned on the TV with the remote. He decided to watch the news to see what they had to say.

“Over the past few weeks, the world was in a crisis. The sky was black and there were numerous reports about shadows lurking where they shouldn’t be. All of a sudden, yesterday, everything disappeared. People are missing and the police are currently investigating it. Hopefully, someone can find out something about this whole phenomenon—” The news reporter spoke in a calm manner. Halfway through, his mind blocked out the sound to ruminate about how he was going to proclaim his undying love for Dan.

He thought about singing to him. He could bring out his guitar and sing a song. Songs… what song should he sing? How would he make it a surprise to Dan? Country Roads? No, it doesn’t say “I love you” enough. I Will Follow You Into the Dark? No, it doesn’t say it enough either. He thought about many different songs that sounded remarkable with a guitar and Kevin’s alluring voice.

Once he decided on the ideal song, he came up with how he would make this a surprise. He’d probably light a candle or two over dinner and hide his guitar under the table. For now, he’d have to wait for dinnertime to come around.

At one point in time, Dan curled up next to Kevin on the couch and they played some Minecraft until the sun started to drop below the horizon. “Dan, go to your room for a bit, I’ll call you out later.” Kevin ushered Dan off of the couch and towards his room.

“Why?” Dan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a surprise.” Kevin winked, running off to the kitchen when he made sure that Dan made it to his room.

 _Okay, what to make?_ Kevin thought, stroking his chin. He swung open the fridge, eyes scanning over the items inside. There wasn’t anything _good_. He’d have to take a trip to the store.

After telling Dan that that was what he was going to do, he drove to the store. Scanning over the contents of the shelves, he thought of meals to make. He decided, even though it was expensive, that he would cook filet mignon with asparagus on the side. It would be perfect.

Once home, Kevin immediately got to work on the fancy dinner. He made the juicy steak first, seasoning it with salt and pepper, before cooking the asparagus. He seasoned it just about the same. He made sure that the food on each plate was arranged perfectly before placing them neatly on the table.

He attempted to light a candle in the middle of the table with his powers, but his efforts were futile. After all, to stop the storm they had to give them up. It sucks, but Kevin can easily live without them. He eventually found a lighter and used it to light the candle in the middle of the table. He scurried to his room and briskly grabbed his guitar before hiding it underneath the dining table.

“Hey, Dan?” Kevin opened Dan’s door slightly once he was finished getting ready. Dan was sitting at his desk, playing The Sims 4 on his computer.

Dan turned his head to look at Kevin as he took off his headphones. “Hm?”

Kevin ticked his head as if to say “c’mon.” Dan smiled and pursued Kevin through the hallway and into the kitchen.

“Filet mignon,” Kevin stated. Dan had a warm smile on his face. Kevin could tell that he appreciated this.

“It’s amazing, Kevin.”

“After you,” Kevin gestured Dan to his seat. He pushed Dan’s chair in for him once he sat down.

Once Kevin sat down across from him, they both dug in. Dan was surprised by how delicious the steak actually tasted. How did Kevin’s cooking improve this much? One can only wonder. Kevin even baffled himself by this.

They both sat in silence, consuming the delicious meal.

“So, what was this all for?” Dan asked, wiping his mouth off with a napkin once he was finished eating.

“You’ll see,” Kevin smirked at Dan which lead his mind to different places. Due to Kevin’s remark, Dan felt a blush creep up his face.

“K-Kevin!” Dan stammered.

“I’m just kidding…” Kevin chuckled before raising an eyebrow, “… _unless_?”

Dan buried his face in his hands, wanting to hide in a hole and stay there for the rest of his life.

“I’ll show you in a sec, lemme just put up these dishes first.” Kevin did just that.

After plopping back down in his chair, he pulled out the guitar that hid under the table. He situated it on his lap, scooting away from the table just a bit so he had enough room.

Clearing his throat, Kevin began to play the guitar. He was a bit rusty, but he still remembered the chords and played them well. Dan’s face dropped from its smile. It wasn’t to be mean, he was only focused on the man he loves. He listened to Kevin. His playing, and, soon enough, his singing. He’d never heard Kevin sing before. At least, not directly. He’d heard him in the hallway, but when Kevin saw him, he’d stop his beautiful singing.

_“If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose myself_

_Everything I have found dear, I’ve not found by myself_

_Try and sometimes you’ll succeed to make this man of me_

_All my stolen missing parts I’ve no need for any more_

_I believe_

_And I believe ‘cause I can see_

_Our future days_

_Days of you and me…_ ”

Dan smiled warmly as he watched and listened. Kevin finished off the song with a light strum. His eyes flickered up to meet Dan’s, a warm smile tugging at his lips.

Kevin beat Dan to speaking. “I love you, Dan. I love you more than everything that I ever have before. I never thought that I was able to love someone this much. I—”

He was interrupted by Dan’s hushed wailing and shaky breaths. Tears slowly trailed down his face as he covered his mouth. He refused to meet Kevin’s eyes. Kevin didn’t see Dan’s cries as happy tears since that’s not what they were.

“Dan—” Kevin started, brows furrowing in concern. He gently sat the guitar on the ground, leaning against the wall behind him before slowly making his way around the table.

“I-I… I can’t do this… anymore,” Dan whispered in between sniffles, his tears prevailing.

“Can’t do… what…?” Kevin’s face contorted into that of a mix of sorrow and worry. He stepped back, a bit further away from Dan, eyes wide.

“I-I…” Dan looked away, not wanting to speak. He knew he had to, though, “when I was in the facility… I… _did_ something with one of the nurses. I thought I was never going to see you again, Kevin. I fucked up, Kevin. I’m sorry.” He shifted his glance all over the room anxiously.

Kevin stared in shock, lips slightly parted as he processed this information. His countenance was surprised at first, but soon terror overtook his face. “You… _why?_ How could you do this?” His voice was quiet and fragile, Dan was scared that it would easily break. Kevin’s eyes watered, but he didn’t let the tears fall.

Kevin searched Dan’s face. He opened his mouth to speak once more but shut it, tears welling in his eyes. He stormed off to his room without another word. Dan watched as he walked away.

“Shit,” Dan whisper-yells, tears threatening to spill again. The edges of his lips twisted into a deep frown. “Fuck. I’m so _stupid_.”

The next morning, Dan woke up, scared, distraught, dejected. _I’ll try to clear things up with Kevin today._ He thought as he lumbered out of his room and into the small hallway. He glanced at Kevin’s bedroom door before stopping in front of it.

“Kevin? I just wanted to apologize again,” Dan knocked, but there was no answer. That was expected, “I’m truly sorry. I never intended for it to happen, it just… happened.” No answer.

“Kevin?” Dan knocked again. There wasn’t even a pissed off ‘go away.’

Shit.

Dan slowly turned the knob, scared of what he might find on the other side. “Kevin?” He asked once more, but this time to an empty room.

The blankets on the bed were neatly folded like it was before he had met Kevin. Just an empty guest room. Warm, morning light shone through the cracks in the blinds, illuminating certain spots in the room where the light hit.

On top of the bed was Kevin’s guitar. The light brown acoustic guitar that Kevin played for him just the night before. Dan didn’t bother checking any of the other rooms, he already knows what was going on. And it was all because of Dan’s stupid mistake.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. Picking up the guitar reminded him solely of Kevin. His fingers strummed aimlessly as he felt a tear slowly fall from his cheek.

“If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose myself…” Dan began to sing in a whisper even though the guitar chords didn’t match up. He didn’t know how to play the guitar.

He sighed before continuing, “… Everything I have found dear, I’ve not found by myself…”

“Try and sometimes you’ll succeed, to make this man of me… All my stolen missing parts, I’ve no need for any more…” His frivolous strumming sounded somewhat okay in his head, as well as his singing.

“I believe… and I believe ‘cause I can see,” Dan sniffed, “our future days… days of you and me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably wondering why I've posted all of the chapters at once. That's because I'm leaving and not looking back. I can't write this stuff anymore--fanfiction. I just don't want to be that person, especially one who writes fanfiction about real people, people with their own lives. I don't know if I will continue writing ever, but I hope that I might someday. If I ever write again, I will have to come up with my own characters and worlds. But for now, I need a break. A long one. 
> 
> I was going to make a sequel after this book, but I've only got one chapter. And I was stuck there. I will be posting it soon.
> 
> So, this is me taking my leave.
> 
> Cya.


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